:     JAN  111910      * 
Divisk 


Section 


A    DEVOTIONAL    COMMENTARY 


ON    THE 


GOSPEL   OF  ST.   MATTHEW 


OXFORD  :    HORACE    HART 
PRINTER    TO    THE    UNIVERSITY 


A  DEVOTIONAL  COMMENTARY 


ON  THE 


GOSPEL  OF  ST.  MATTHEW 


BY 


v/ 


ROBERT    F.    HORTON 


<     JAN  I]  1910      * 
%6/CAl  sa«$j£ 


New  York  Chicago  Toronto 

Fleming     H.     Re  veil     Company 

London        and        Edinburgh 


Copyright,   1909,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


The  Revised  Version  is  printed  by  permission  of  the 
Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge 


New  York  :  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago ;  80  Wabash  Avenue 
Toronto  :  25  Richmond  St.,  W. 
London  :  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh  :    100  Princes  Street 


/ 

INTRODUCTION 

In  The  Open  Secret  I  suggested  the  use  of  the  Bible 
in  devotion,  and  gave  some  illustrative  passages  ; 
the  plain  text  with  the  references  of  the  R.V.  was 
all  that  was  required.  But  for  the  fuller  and  richer 
use  of  Scripture  in  a  devotional  way,  some  notes 
and  comments  are  needed,  especially  for  those 
who  are  not  acquainted  with  the  language  of  the 
original.  The  present  commentary  on  the  first  of 
the  Four  Gospels  is  an  attempt  to  give  just  those 
explanations,  and  references  which  may  be  sup- 
posed to  make  the  Gospel  better  available  for  the 
practice  of  devotion,  and  the  nourishment  of  the 
Spiritual  life. 

There  is  no  attempt  to  load  the  notes  with 
illustrative  extracts  ;  all  the  space  has  been  used 
simply  to  arrive  at  the  meaning  of  the  text,  and 
to  make  the  arrangement  of  the  matter  intelligible. 
The  Commentaries  which  have  been  principally 
used  are  Dr.  David  Brown's,  and  Dr.  A.  B.  Bruce's 
in  the  Expositor  s  Greek  Testament,  and  Well- 
hausen's  brief  but  invaluable  translation  and  ex- 
position. I  have  seldom  ventured  to  obtrude  my 
own  interpretation,  in  a  field  which  has  been 
covered  for  so  many  centuries  by  the  expositors 


vi  INTRODUCTION 

of  the  Christian  Church.  Where  I  have  given 
a  view  of  my  own,  e.  g.  in  the  explanation  of  the 
Parable  of  the  Hired  Labourers  in  the  Vineyard, 
it  is  only  with  the  utmost  diffidence,  and  the  wish 
to  stand  under  correction. 

While  my  book  was  in  the  Press,  Mr.  W.  C. 
Allen's  St.  MattJiew  in  the  International  Critical 
Commentary  appeared.  I  have  therefore  only  been 
able  to  use  it  in  a  supplementary  way.  But  his 
object  is  so  different  from  mine,  that  the  two 
commentaries  stand  wholly  apart  from  one  another. 
His  main  interest,  the  thought  that  colours  all  the 
notes,  is  to  establish  the  position  that  our  first 
gospel  is  the  work  of  an  editor  who  pieced  together 
(1)  Mark,  (i)  the  Logia  of  Matthew,  (3)  a  book  of 
Messianic  forecasts  from  the  O.T.,  and  (4)  certain 
Palestinian  traditions  of  the  infancy  of  Jesus,  un- 
known to  Mark.  As  a  piece  of  critical  work  on 
the  structure,  the  scope,  and  the  historical  value,  of 
St.  Matthew,  Mr.  Allen's  book  is  invaluable.  But 
for  the  reader  of  the  Gospel  whose  one  object  is,  to 
learn  how  to  know  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  shape  his 
own  life  on  the  example  and  teaching  of  the  Lord, 
the  critical  work  is  only  a  preliminary  one  ;  it  must 
be  well  over  and  settled  before  the  practical  reading 
begins. 

For  a  devotional  purpose  critical  discussions  are 
not  brought  forward,  but  are  rather  presupposed. 
The  searching  and  remorseless  criticism  to  which 


INTRODUCTION  vii 

the  Gospel  narrative  is  now  being  subjected,  will 
leave  the  Gospels  as  books  exactly  where  they  are. 
It  is  a  curious  illusion  that  criticism  can  take  away 
our  Bible.  There  it  is,  when  criticism  has  done  its 
task,  the  same  vital  and  life-giving  literature  as 
before.  Whatever  controversies  may  rage  over 
the  structure,  composition,  the  authorship  and  the 
date,  the  text  and  the  reading,  this  Gospel  of 
Matthew  is  in  our  hands,  a  work  of  approved 
spiritual  significance.  By  reading  it,  by  brooding 
and  praying  over  it,  by  permitting  its  influence  to 
enter  the  soul,  the  reader,  apart  from  all  discus- 
sions, is  led  into  the  footprints  of  Jesus,  sits  at 
His  feet  and  learns  ;  find  his  way  to  the  Cross  and 
to  the  empty  tomb. 

It  is  peculiarly  valuable  just  now  to  bring  out 
this  practical  value  of  the  Gospel  narrative,  and  to 
test  it  by  experience.  Such  a  devotional  use  of 
the  book  is  not  to  be  set  as  an  argument  against 
criticism,  but  it  induces  a  singular  serenity  as  to 
the  results  of  criticism.  When  a  man  knows  his 
gospel  in  that  way,  he  has  a  possession  which 
no  one  can  take  from  him ;  he  knows  the  flavour, 
the  nutriment,  the  power,  of  the  story  and  the 
Person  ;  if  criticism  were  to  dispute  or  to  discredit 
this  truth  of  experience,  he  would  treat  criticism 
as  he  does  the  assaults  which  misguided  men  some- 
times make  on  Homer  or  Shakespeare,  on  human 
responsibility   or    morality,  on    love   and    sacrifice 


viii  INTRODUCTION 

and  loyalty,  and  the  other  nobilities  of  human 
life.  No  one,  thus  exercised  in  the  Gospel,  will 
have  reason  to  complain  'they  have  taken  away 
my  Lord,  and  I  know  not  where  they  have  laid 
Him'.  For  the  Lord,  the  Christ  of  Matthew, 
cannot  be  taken  away  by  any  one ;  after  all  argu- 
ments, refutations,  and  assaults  His  voice  rises 
calmly  in  the  stillness  of  the  soul  of  the  disciple, 
'  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway.  even  unto  the  end  of 
the  world.' 

Robert  F.  Horton. 

Hampstead, 
May  24.  1907. 


THE    GOSPEL 

ACCORDING    TO 

ST.    MATTHEW 

1  l  The  book  of  the  -  generation  of  Tesus  Christ,  '  0r»  The 

,  genealogy 

the  son  of  David,  the  son  of  Abraham.  of  Jesus 

Christ. 

2  Abraham    begat    Isaac ;     and    Isaac    begat  =  or, 


birth :  a 


d-> 


Jacob ;  and  Jacob  begat  Judah  and  his  breth-  ;n  ver]  J 

Ch.  i.   1-17.     The  Book  of  the  Generation  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

As  Dr.  Bruce  says  in  the  Expositor's  Greek  Testament,  this 
genealogical  tree  seems  a  dry  beginning  to  the  Gospel.  And  so  it 
would  be,  if  we  had  not  the  Old  Testament  to  interpret  it. 
Matthew  clings  at  every  point  to  the  Old  Testament.  For 
the  heathen,  Mark's  or  Luke's  or  even  John's  Gospel  would  be 
more  intelligible.  But  for  us  who  know  and  love  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  are  interested  to  see  how  the  New  grows  out  of  the  Old, 
Matthew  is  the  right  Gospel  to  begin  with ;  and  this  genealogy, 
so  far  from  being  dry,  is  all-alive  with  interest,  fills  us  with  praise, 
and  brings  us  to  our  knees. 

Verse  1.  generation.  The  word  here,  and  in  ver.  18,  translated 
'  birth  ',  is  genesis.  This  at  once  suggests  a  comparison  with  the 
opening  book  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  especially  Gen.  ii.  4.  The 
Genesis  of  Heaven  and  Earth  is,  extrinsically,  a  greater  thing,  for 
it  embraces  this  whole  globe,  the  solar  system,  the  vast  stellar 
distances.  But,  intrinsically,  the  Genesis  of  Jesus  Christ  is,  for  us 
men,  more  important  than  the  genesis  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth. 
The  universe  has  no  meaning  except  for  consciousness,  God's  or 
man's,  and  Jesus  Christ  is  the  key  to  our  consciousness  and  the 
connexion  of  ours  with  God's. 

the  son  of  David,  the  son  of  Abraham.  The  first  object  of  the 
Gospel  narrative  was  to  show  that  Jesus  was  a  man.  Docetism 
was  the  earliest  heresy  ;  the  Resurrection  made  it  plain  that  Jesus 
was  divine  ;  and  men  thought  that  so  divine  a  Being  could  never 
have  been  really  flesh  and  blood.  The  humanity  was  phantasmal. 
The  Gospel  narrative  wishes  to  show  that  He  came  of  a  human 
stock,  was  born  as  we  are,  and  like  us  lived,  suffered,  was 
tempted,  and  died.  Luke  iii.  23-36  carries  the  genealogical  line 
back    to    the    first    man  ;    Matthew    is    content    to    go    back    to 

B 


2  St.  MATTHEW  I.  3-8 

ren ;    and   Judah   begat   Perez   and   Zerah   of  3 
Tamar;  and  Perez  begat  Hezron  ;  and  Hezron 
1  Gr  begat  *  Ram  \  and  'Ram  begat  Amminadab;  and  4 

Aram.       Amminadab    begat    Nahshon ;    and    Nahshon 
begat   Salmon ;    and   Salmon    begat    Boaz   of  5 
Rahab ;  and  Boaz  begat  Obed  of  Ruth ;  and 
Obed  begat  Jesse ;  and  Jesse  begat  David  the  6 
king. 

And  David  begat  Solomon  of  her  that  had 
been   the   wife  of  Uriah ;   and   Solomon  begat  7 
Rehoboam  ;  and  Rehoboam  begat  Abijah ;  and 
* Gr-  Abijah  begat  2  Asa  ;   and  2  Asa  begat  Jehosha-  8 

phat ;    and    Jehoshaphat    begat    Joram ;    and 

Abraham;  the  predominant  thought  is  —  not  only  was  He  the 
son  of  man,  but  He  was  Messias,  the  scion  of  David,  the  promised 
seed  of  Abraham.  This  connexion  with  David  was  for  all  Jewish 
Christians  vital  (2  Sam.  vii.  12-16;  Ps.  cxxxii.  11;  Isa.  xi.  1; 
Jer.  xxiii.  5;  Luke  i.  32,  69  ;  John  vii.  42  ;  Acts  ii.  30,  xiii.  23  ; 
Rom.  i.  3  ;  2  Tim.  ii.  8;  Rev.  xxii.  16).  The  connexion  with 
Abraham  followed  (Gen.  xxii.  18 ;  Gal.  iii.  16 ;  Rom.  ix.  5). 

2.  Abraham.  The  fourteen  generations  from  Abraham  to  David 
are  glorious  ;  they  belong  to  the  Theocracy.  They  contain  the 
Patriarchs,  and  the  noble  figure  of  Judah.  Towards  the  end 
emerges  Boaz  with  the  idyl  of  Ruth.  For  the  home-picture  of 
Jesse  at  Bethlehem  see  1  Samuel  xvi.  1,  xvii.  12. 

3.  Tamar.  Four  women  appear  in  the  genealogy.  Wh}'  ? 
Three — Tamar,  Rahab,  and  Bathsheba— are  stained  with  gross 
immorality  !  Two — Rahab  and  Ruth — are  strangers,  a  Canaanite, 
and  a  hated  Moabite  !  Of  this  stock  comes  Jesus,  who  receives 
sinners,  and  welcomes  the  heathen  into  His  family. 

6.  David  the  king.  Here  the  growth  and  glory  of  the  family 
culminate.  Thenceforward  is  a  more  or  less  arrested  Decline  and 
Fall.  To  spring  of  the  loins  of  Abraham  is  beautiful — but  through 
Tamar  and  Bathsheba,  that  gives  us  pause. 

6b-n.  The  fourteen  generations  from  David  to  Jeremiah — a 
rapid  summary  of  the  monarchy — are  a  pitiful  story  of  degeneration. 
The  line  which  began  with  '  her  that  had  been  the  wife  of  Uriah ' 
had  the  seed  of  corruption  in  it.  Solomon  was  apostate ; 
Rehoboam  was  infatuated;  and  though  Asa,  Jehoshaphat,  Uzziah, 
Hezekiah,  and  Josiah  had  noble  traits,  relentings,  and  pieties, 
the  darker  tendency  appears  in  Abijah,  Joram,  Jotham,  and  Ahaz, 
and  came  to  a  culmination  of  evil  in  Manasseh.     Jechoniah,  the 


St.  MATTHEW  I.  9-16 

9  Joram  begat  Uzziah  ;  and  Uzziah  begat  Jotham  ; 

and  Jotham  begat  Ahaz ;  and  Ahaz  begat  Heze- 
10  kiah ;    and   Hezekiah    begat    Manasseh ;    and 

Manasseh   begat   !  Anion ;    and  l  Anion  begat  '  Gr. 
ii  Josiah;   and  Josiah  begat  Jechoniah  and   his 

brethren,  at  the  time  of  the  *  carrying  away  to  2  0,  re. 

t,    1     1  moval to 

Babylon.  Babylon 

1 2  And  after  the  2  carrying  away  to  Babylon,  Je- 
choniah begat  3  Shealtiel ;  and  3  Shealtiel  begat  3  Gr.  Sa- 

13  Zerubbabel;  and  Zerubbabel  begat  Abiud;  and 
Abiud  begat  Eliakim  ;  and  Eliakim  begat  Azor ; 

14  and  Azor  begat  Sadoc ;  and  Sadoc  begat  Achim  ; 

15  and  Achim  begat  Eliud;  and  Eliud  begat  Elea- 
zar ;  and  Eleazar  begat  Matthan ;  and  Matthan 

16  begat  Jacob ;  and  Jacob  begat  Joseph  the  hus- 
band of  Mary,  of  whom  was  born  Jesus,  who  is 
called  Christ. 


grandson  of  Josiah  (Jer.  xxiv.  1,  xxvii.  20),  was  a  child,  eight 
according  to  2  Chron.  xxxvi.  9,  eighteen  according  to  2  Kings 
xxiv.  8,  who  only  reigned  three  months  and  ten  days,  and  then 
was  taken  into  the  lifelong  captivity  of  Babylon.  What  a  falling- 
off  from  David  !  Compare  the  expression  '  Judah  and  his  brethren ' 
in  ver.  2  with  'Jechoniah  and  his  brethren'  in  ver.  n,  and  you 
see  the  depth  of  the  fall.  The  promise  of  the  nation  at  its  birth, 
the  glory  of  the  kingship  in  David,  had  dwindled  down  to  the 
feebleness  and  ignominy  of  the  Captivity.  Through  such  a  line  of 
sin  and  punishment,  a  decline  ending  in  a  fall,  Christ  came. 

12-16.  The  fourteen  generations,  which  span  the  588  years  from 
Jechoniah  to  Christ,  are  an  example  of  the  indistinguishable 
obscurity  of  human  lives.  Zerubbabel  emerges  into  historical  light 
because  he  led  back  some  of  the  exiles  from  Babylon,  Ezra  iii.  2. 
Joseph  is  famous  for  ever  as  the  putative  father  of  Jesus  i^Luke 
iii.  23,  iv.  22  :  also  ii.  33,  41,  48) ;  but  for  the  rest,  they  lie  in  dateless 
and  unchronicled  darkness.  We  know  nothing  of  them  but  their 
names.  Through  this  fallen  and  indistinguishable  posterity  of  a 
great  line,  Christ  came. 

16.  of  whom  was  born,  i.e.  of  Mary.  Though  Joseph  is  called 
the  father  of  Jesus — and  it  is  only  on  the  ground  of  his  being  His 
father  that  his  genealogical  tree  is  given— there  is  a  mystery  in  the 

B  2 


4  St.  MATTHEW  I.  17,  18 

xOi,re-         So  all  the  generations  from  Abraham  unto  17 

moval  to  ° 

Babylon.     David    are    fourteen    generations ;    and    from 
-Or, gene-  David  unto  the  l  carrying  away  to  Babylon  four- 

ration :  as  ,  1 

in  ver.  i.     teen  generations  ;  and  from  the  *  carrying  away 

Some 

ancient       to  Babylon  unto  the  Christ  fourteen  generations, 
ties  read         Now  the  2  birth  3  of  Jesus  Christ  was  on  this  18 


birth,  which  is  unfolded  in  ver.  18-24.  St.  Luke,  the  other 
evangelist  who  records  the  singular  operations  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
in  the  birth,  speaks  of  Joseph  and  Mary  as  His  parents,  records 
the  astonished  inquiry  of  the  Nazarenes,  'Is  not  this  Joseph's 
son  ? '  and  even  represents  Mary  as  calling  Joseph  His  father 
(ii.  48).  This  is  a  mystery  which  we  cannot  hope  to  fathom.  We 
are  very  sure,  with  Matthew  and  Luke,  that  Jesus  was  born  of  the 
Holy  Ghost ;  but  we  are,  with  them  and  with  St.  Paul,  to  regard 
Him  as  the  seed  of  David  and  Abraham,  and  Adam,  through 
Joseph.  If  we  maintain  that  this  connexion  with  humanity  was 
established  only  through  Mary,  we  set  aside  the  testimony  of  the 
two  evangelists  who  record  the  virgin-birth. 

The  mystery  may  be  stated  thus  :  Joseph  was  the  father  of 
Jesus,  but  not  in  the  ordinary  way  of  human  generation,  his 
parenthood  was  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  is  enough  for  us 
that  our  Lord  and  Saviour  was  born  of  a  human  stock,  and  we  may 
humbly  inscribe  ourselves  among  His  relations,  on  the  terms 
which  He  Himself  has  laid  down  in  xii.  50. 

Jesus,  who  is  called  Christ,  i.  e.  Christ  is  the  surname,  xxvii.  22. 
Cf.  '  Simon  who  is  called  Peter '.  It  is  as  if  the  Evangelist  wished 
to  say  :  This  Jesus,  the  seed  of  Abraham,  the  descendant  of 
David,  the  expected  Messias  of  Israel,  was,  by  Jewish  hands, 
delivered  to  the  Roman  governor  and,  at  the  instance  of  Jewish 
prayers,  crucified  by  the  Gentile. 

17.  The  symmetry  of  the  fourteen  is  achieved  by  leaving  out 
several  generations  ;  e.  g.  Josiah  was  the  grandfather  of  Jechoniah. 
The  comparison  with  the  genealogy  in  Luke  iii  shows  how 
divergent  these  family  trees  might  be.  The  value  of  the  lists  is  not 
in  the  exactness  of  the  names,  which  might  be  a  matter  of  doubt 
even  to  the  most  careful  investigator,  but  in  the  connexion  that  is 
shown  with  David  and  with  Abraham,  ver.  1,  and  so  with  Adam, 
Luke  iii.  38. 

i.  18— ii.     The  Idyl  of  the  Birth  and  Infancy. 

This  passage,  like  the  corresponding  one  in  Luke  i,  ii,  is  com- 
posed of  exquisite  episodes  which  are,  strictly  speaking,  poems — 
the  first  Christmas-carols,  which  have  been  sung  ever  since.  They 
are  the  outcome  of  the  Church's  surprise  and  joy  in  recognizing 


St.  MATTHEW  I.   18  5 

wise :    When   his   mother  Mary  had  been  be-  of  the 

Christ- 
trothed  to  Joseph,  before  they  came  together  1 0r,  miy 

she  was  found  with  child  of  the  l  Holy  Ghost.  £fa7o: 


that  her  Lord  was  divine.  They  are  lyrics  of  rapture  over  the 
truth  that  He  had  come  into  humanity,  and  was  not  merely  the 
outcome  of  humanity.  In  such  compositions  the  substance  is 
more  important  than  the  form.  The  substance  is  contained  in 
that  saying  :  'I  am  from  above,  I  am  not  of  this  world'  (Johnviii.  23^. 
The  form  varies  ;  in  John  it  is  the  pre-existent  Logos  that  becomes 
flesh  ;  in  Paul  it  is  One  in  the  form  of  God,  who  emptied  Himself 
to  become  man  ;  here  and  in  Luke  it  is  a  Child,  born  by  direct 
operation  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  miraculously  preserved  from  the 
wrath  of  kings,  visited  by  adoring  strangers  from  the  East, 
heralded  by  angels,  drawing  simple  shepherds  to  His  infant 
feet. 

In  such  an  Idyl  as  this,  where  the  substance  is  everything, 
and  the  form  is  secondary,  we  may  miss  the  meaning  by  a  dull 
literalism,  and  by  laying  the  stress  on  details  which  are  mere 
accidents,  and  not  essentials.  Poetry  is  as  instructive  as  history, 
but  not  in  the  same  way.  From  the  religious  point  of  view  we 
learn  as  much  from  Milton's  Paradise  Lost  as  from  the  account 
which  Science  gives  of  the  origin  of  things  ;  and  the  opening 
chapters  of  Genesis  are  always  there  to  remind  us  that  an  epic 
may  be  as  valuable  to  men  as  history. 

In  the  passage  before  us,  therefore,  the  stress  is  to  be  laid  on  the 
faith  which  possessed  the  earliest  believers  in  Christ,  that  He  was 
God  in  the  flesh  ;  the  several  incidents  which  are  chosen  to 
illustrate  this  truth  may  have  been  derived  from  Mary  or  from 
Joseph.  No  wise  person  will  presume  to  say  that  they  are 
impossible  or  untrue  ;  but  a  man  may  be  a  Christian  without 
holding  that  they  are  facts  of  histor}'.  History,  in  the  strict  sense 
of  the  word,  begins  where  Mark  and  John  and  Paul  begin. 
The  Idyl  of  the  Infancy  belongs  to  another  kind  of  literature  ; 
but  the  experience  of  many  centuries  shows  that  it  is  no  whit 
inferior  in  spiritual  power  and  religious  truth  to  the  facts  of 
historj'. 

18-25.  This  paragraph  contains  a  mystery,  a  suggestion  of  the 
way  in  which  the  Word  became  flesh.  Joseph,  in  later  years, 
told  to  intimate  friends  the  story  of  his  marriage  and  of  the  birth 
of  his  firstborn  ;  the  reminiscence  took  shape  and,  as  years  went 
on,  was  repeated  among  the  first  believers.  Finalty,  this  evangelist 
placed  it  in  the  forefront  of  his  history,  just  as,  later  on,  Luke, 
drawing  upon  reminiscences  of  Mary,  inserted  it  in  his. 

18.  Now.  It  should  be  'But'.  The  first  paragraph  described 
the  genesis  of  Jesus  Christ  through  the  tree  of  Abraham  and 
David.      '  But ' — the    narrative  proceeds,  '  the  genesis  of  Jesus 


6  St.  MATTHEW  I.    19,  20 

through-     And  Joseph  her  husband,    being   a  righteous  19 

out  this  ,  ....  ,        .  ... 

book.         man,  and  not  willing  to  make  her  a  public  ex- 
ample,   was   minded  to  put   her  away  privily. 
But  when  he  thought  on  these  things,  behold,  20 
an  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  unto  him  in  a 
dream,  saying,  Joseph,  thou  son  of  David,  fear 

Christ  was  on  thiswise.'  And  then  we  are  told  something  which 
seems  to  imply  that  the  genealogy  was  irrelevant ;  for  of  what 
use  was  it  to  trace  the  descent  of  Jesus  through  Joseph,  if  Joseph 
was  not  in  the  strict  sense  His  father  at  all? 

Does  the  Evangelist  simply  put  down  these  two  accounts 
side  03'  side,  from  his  materials,  with  no  thought  of  harmonizing 
them  ?  Does  he  first  give  a  prosaic  genealogy,  and  then  insert 
a  poem  from  the  circle  of  early  Christian  faith  ?  Or  does  he  see 
a  reconciliation,  does  he  regard  Par.  1  and  Par.  2  as  equally 
matters  of  fact,  Which  a  wise  reader  will  instinctively  combine 
into  a  consistent  whole?  To  these  questions  we  can  give  no 
certain  answer.  But  the  exposition  may  bring  the  two  facts  into 
a  kind  of  connexion  which,  spiritually  at  least,  is  satisfying. 

betrothed  .  .  .  came  together.  These  are  the  two  steps  which 
constituted  marriage.  When  the  suitor  had  paid  the  dowry  to 
the  maiden's  father,  she  was  from  that  moment  his  wife  (see 
ver.  24).  Months  and  even  years  might  elapse  before  the  day 
when  he  would  go  to  the  parents'  home,  in  the  evening,  or  in 
the  dead  of  night  (xxv.  6),  and  carry  his  wife  to  his  own  house 
with  music  and  feasting.  Joseph  and  Mary  were  already  man 
and  wife,  but  he  had  not  yet  brought  her  to  his  house  ;  probably 
she  was  a  girl,  barely  mature. 

ivas  found  ivith  cliild  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  He  found  her  with 
child,  but  did  not  know  that  it  was  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  He  feared 
that  some  one  had  betrayed  her,  or  that  she  had  been  false  to  him. 

19.  a  righteous  man  :  Sucaios.  See  Matt.  xx.  4,  Mark  vi.  20, 
Luke  xx.  20,  Rom.  v.  7.  These  passages  show  that  we  are  to 
understand  by  righteous,  '  a  good  man,'  not  in  the  severe  sense, 
one  who  could  not  tolerate  an  erring  wife,  but  in  the  broader 
sense,  one  who,  unable  to  retain  an  unfaithful  wife,  yet  could  not 
bear  to  expose  her  to  unnecessary  obloqii}'.  His  righteousness, 
that  is,  is  shown  not  so  much  in  putting  her  awajr,  as  in  doing  it 
privately,  and  not  with  the  formality  of  the  law  (^Deut.  xxiv.  1). 

20.  thought :  the  correlative  word  in  ix.  4,  the  inward  revolving 
of  the  facts  which  none  but  God  sees. 

a  dream.  F.  W.  H.  Myers,  in  his  book  on  Human 
Personality,  traces  the  facts  of  the  sleep-life,  and  shows  how 
much  realit}'  there  is  in  it.  Whether  the  dream  life  or  the  waking- 
life  is  the  most  real,  is  to  him  an  open  question.     Sometimes  in 


St.  MATTHEW  I.  21 


not  to  take  unto  thee  Mary  thy  wife :  for  that 
which  is  Conceived  in  her  is  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  And  she  shall  bring  forth  a  son  ;  and 
thou  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus  ;  for  it  is  he  that 


dreams  we  come  into  contact  with  the  spiritual  powers  which 
encompass  us,  and  can  receive  directions  from  them  which  are 
not  perceived  in  waking  moments.  Perhaps  most  persons,  once 
or  twice  in  a  lifetime,  are  directed  by  a  dream  just  as  Joseph  is 
here.  How  far  the  dream  was  the  result  of  his  own  reflections, 
the  uprush  of  his  subliminal  consciousness,  no  one  can  determine; 
but  the  cases  are  quite  common  in  which  the  dream  authenticates 
itself  as  a  reality  to  which  attention  and  obedience  must  be 
given.  Joseph  believed  that,  though  the  angel  was  only  in  a 
dream,  God  was  instructing  him  in  that  way  ;  and  he  acted 
accordingly  (ver.  24^. 

thou  Son  of  David.  Here  the  episode  is  linked  on  to  the 
genealogy.  As  the  son  of  David,  he  is  to  accept  his  wife  and 
adopt  her  offspring,  evidently  in  order  that  the  child  when  born 
may  be  the  son  of  David  too  (ver.  1).  Thus  the  very  vision  which 
states  that  the  birth  is  '  of  the  Holy  Ghost '  constitutes  Joseph 
the  father.  In  the  eyes  of  the  world,  in  the  judgement  of  the  law, 
Joseph  was  the  parent  of  Jesus.  Only  in  his  own  eyes  he 
occupied  a  unique  position.  He  was  the  father  of  Jesus  by  the 
operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  not  by  the  ordinary  method  of 
human  propagation. 

fear  not.  Was  it  fear  of  scandal  ?  No,  for  b}'  taking  her  at 
once  that  could  be  and  was  averted.  It  must  have  been  fear  of 
moral  evil.  If  the  maid  had  fallen  and  he  took  her,  he  would 
condone  '  folly  in  Israel '.  'That  which  should  be  born  ?  must  be 
either  most  unholy  or  most  holy  :  the  dream-voice  told  him  that  it 
was  most  holy.  He  believed,  and  was  justified  by  his  faith,  justified 
in  passing  as  the  father  of  the  child.  That  Jesus  was  born  in  this 
way  must  rest  on  Joseph's  testimony  alone.  It  is  obviously  not  a 
fact  which  could  be  otherwise  verified.  Jesus  never  alluded  to  it 
Himself,  nor  did  Peter  or  John  or  Paul.  It  was  not  a  fact  on 
which  objective  religious  truth  could  be  based.  If  the  Divinity  of 
Jesus  rested  on  it,  we  should  indeed  be  in  a  perilous  way. 
Rather  it  rests  on  the  Divinity  of  Jesus.  It  is  a  domestic  secret, 
a  mystery  such  as  fathers  and  mothers  treasure  in  their  hearts. 
They  who  believe  in  Jesus  may  believe  it,  but  it  could  not  con- 
vince unbelievers;  never  in  the  New  Testament  is  it  used  or  cited 
for  such  a  purpose. 

91.  Jesus  is  the  Hebrew  Joshua,  meaning  'Jehovah  shall  save'. 
The  new  meaning  was  this  :  He  will  save  from  sins.  See  Acts 
iv.  12,  v.  31,  xiii.  23,  38.  What  a  vision  of  the  night  was  this! 
He  saw  his  son  born,  he  saw  his  name,  he  saw  the  meaning  of  it. 


8  St.  MATTHEW  I.  22-24 

shall  save  his  people  from  their  sins.     Now  all  2  a 
this  is  come  to  pass,  that  it  might  be  fulfilled 
which  was  spoken  by  the  Lord  through  the  pro- 
phet, saying, 

Behold,  the  virgin  shall  be  with  child,  and  23 
shall  bring  forth  a  son, 
1  Gr.  Em-       And  they  shall  call  his  name  12  Immanuel ; 

manna.  J 

which  is,  being  interpreted,  God  with  us.     And  24 
Joseph   arose  from  his  sleep,  and  did  as  the 

Luke  gives  the  lyric  of  angels  singing  to  the  shepherds  '  Unto  3Tou 
is  born  this  day  in  the  City  of  David  a  Saviour  which  is  Christ  the 
Lord '  ;  but  this  single  angel  in  the  dreaming  heart  of  Joseph  is 
more  explicit,  more  comforting — 'He  shall  save  His  people  from 
their  sins.' 

22,  23.  It  is  Matthew's  speciality  to  connect  the  events  of  the 
Gospel  with  prophetic  oracles,  a  collection  which  he  had  by  him, 
and  used  as  one  of  his  sources  ;  see  W.  C.  Allen,  Critical  Com- 
mentary on  Matthew,  Introd.  LXI,  and  XCVI.  The  connexion  is 
often,  as  here,  mainly  verbal.  Certainly  the  episodes  cannot  be 
invented  as  fulfilments  of  the  prophecies  ;  the  prophecies  are  too 
precarious.  This  citation  from  Is.  vii.  14  only  seems  to  be  a  pro- 
phecy of  the  virgin-birth  if  it  is  taken  from  the  Greek,  the  Alex- 
andrine version  of  the  prophet.  In  the  Hebrew  rraVsn  does 
not  mean  virgin  at  all.  The  Hebrew  for  virgin  rfwna  is  used 
fifty  times  in  the  Old  Testament.  But  the  LXX  have  translated 
the  Hebrew,  which  simply  means  a  young  woman,  by  7)  irapOevos, 
i.e.  a  virgin.  In  the  original  of  Isaiah,  all  that  is  meant  is,  that 
before  a  young  woman  could  conceive  and  bear  a  son,  deliverance 
would  have  come  to  king  Ahaz,  and  the  new-born  child  could  be 
called  '  God  with  us '. 

If,  therefore,  the  Evangelist  cites  the  passage  it  is  somewhat 
inconclusive.  If  only  it  were  included  in  Joseph's  dream  it  would 
bear  another,  and  far  more  interesting,  aspect.  In  dreams  familiar 
words  are  often  charged  with  a  new  meaning,  and  we  wake  with 
the  words  on  our  lips  but  with  the  new  meaning  in  our  minds. 
Joseph  knew  the  words  of  this  old  Isaianic  oracle,  but  in  the 
dream  they  came  to  him  from  the  angel's  lips  with  a  sudden 
inspiration  :  his  wife  was  the  young  woman,  his  child  Jesus  that 
should  be  born  was  Immanuel.  He  rose  from  his  sleep  with  the 
word  echoing  in  his  ears — 'God  with  us'.  Perplexity  was 
removed  ;  it  was  as  if  God  had  spoken. 

24.  And  Joseph  .  .  .  did  as  the  angel  of  the  Lord  commanded  him. 
it  is  the  characteristic  of  such  experiences  as  this,  that  they  carry 


St.  MATTHEW  I.  25  9 

angel  of  the  Lord  commanded  him,  and  took 
25  unto  him  his  wife;  and  knew  her  not  till  she 
had   brought   forth  a  son  :  and  he  called  his 
name  Jesus. 

with  them  an  inner  certitude  which  is  above  argument.  He  knew 
by  the  experience  itself  that  the  experience  was  of  God.  Without 
any  hesitation,  that  same  day  he  took  his  wife  to  his  house,  so 
that  the  child  who  should  be  born  would  be  acknowledged  as  his. 

25.  He  knew,  and  Mary  knew,  the  mystery  of  the  birth.  She  was, 
as  the  LXX  rendered  the  Hebrew  word,  a  virgin.  She  brought 
forth  a  son  and  named  him  Jesus  ;  and  they  treasured  the  fact  in 
their  hearts,  that  he  was  conceived  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

The  secret  is  one  which  Jesus  Himself  would  call  '  a  pearl 
not  to  be  cast  before  swine  '.  What  the  swine  would  do  with  it  is 
seen  in  the  disgusting  Jewish  story  which  was  invented  to  dis- 
honour Jesus,  and  in  the  fact  that  Haeckel  quotes  the  story  with 
approbation  in  his  Riddle  of  the  Universe.  It  is  hard  to  conceive 
how  any  human  mind  could  turn  this  exquisite  idyl  into  ribaldry. 
Like  a  morning  washed  in  dew  and  sparkling  with  the  purity  of 
the  hoar-frost,  it  might,  one  would  suppose,  captivate  all  hearts. 
But  no  truth  of  poetry  is  secure  against  coarse  and  common  minds. 
And  our  Lord,  by  His  studied  silence  on  the  subject  of  His  own 
birth,  and  His  beloved  disciple  John  Dy  his  references  to  Joseph  as 
the  father  of  Jesus  (John  i.  45,  vi.  42)  show  us  with  what  reticence 
we  are  to  treat  the  narrative.  It  is  not  the  foundation,  but  the 
coping-stone,  of  the  edifice  of  faith  ;  and  it  is  the  substance  and 
not  the  form  that  is  of  value.  The  divinity  of  Jesus  does  not  rest 
on  His  physical  origin,  but  on  His  moral  and  spiritual  character. 
His  sinlessness  is  not  the  result  of  being  free  from  the  taint  of 
Adam  ;  it  is  the  result  of  His  own  overcoming.  If  we  believed  in 
Him,  '  who  was  tempted  in  all  points  like  as  we  are,  yet  without 
sin,'  on  the  ground  that  He  was  born  in  a  different  way  from 
ourselves,  we  should  miss  the  saving  element  of  His  victory  over 
the  world.  And  when  we  lay  the  stress  on  such  a  physical  fact, 
logic  drives  us  along  the  course  which  the  Roman  Church  has 
taken  :  if  He  was  to  be  sinless,  then,  not  only  must  He  be  with- 
out a  human  father,  but  His  human  mother  must  be  immaculately 
conceived,  and  practically  divine :  and  then  Mary's  mother  Anna 
must  enjoy  a  similar  immunity,  and  so  back  to  Eve.  The  Roman 
logic  has  the  advantage  of  showing  the  intrinsic  fallacy  of  the 
whole  argument.  Jesus  is  divine  because  of  His  character  and 
His  acts.  With  simple  literal  truth  we  may  be  sure  that  He  was 
born  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  part  that  His  human  father  had 
in  His  birth  is  a  secret  over  which  reverence  and  delicacy 
would  draw  a  veil.  When  unbelief  assails  the  story  we  need  not 
defend  it,  we  should  withdraw  it,  and  direct  the  unbeliever  to 
evidences  which  he  is  more  capable  of  understanding. 


io  St.  MATTHEW  II.  1 

Magi.  Now  when  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem  of  2 

Esther  5?    Judaea  in  the  days  of  Herod  the  king,  behold, 
$  12.  ""     '  wise  men  from  tne  east  came  to  Jerusalem,  say- 

Ch.  ii.    The  Idyl  of  the  Magi. 

The  story  contained  in  this  chapter,  which  charmed  our 
wondering  childhood,  has  a  deeper  meaning  for  our  mature  age ; 
its  purpose  is  to  bring  out  two  striking  contrasts,  first,  that  between 
the  homage  brought  to  Jesus  from  afar,  ver.  1-12,  and  the  hostility 
at  home,  ver.  13-23  ;  second,  that  between  King  Herod,  and  the 
rightful  King  of  the  World  who  came  to  bear  witness  of  the  truth. 
This  twofold  contrast  comes  out  clearly  in  the  study  of  the  details. 
Observe,  the  story — the  movement  of  the  star,  and  the  angelic 
warnings— is  frankly  supernatural  ;  it  is  labour  thrown  away  to 
rationalize  it.  Our  object  is  mainly  to  learn  the  spiritual  truths 
which  it  conveys  in  its  rich  colouring  of  narrative. 

1.  in  Bethlehem.  The  author  of  this  carol  did  not  know  that 
the  parents  of  Jesus  came  from  the  obscure  town  of  Nazareth,  but 
thought  that  the  Holy  Family  withdrew  there,  to  escape  the  hand 
of  Archelaus,  and  to  fulfil  a  prophecy,  ver.  23. 

Herod  the  king.  This  great,  magnificent,  but  tyrannical 
king,  was  an  Idumean— thus  Edom  ruled  over  Israel! — and  he 
maintained  his  rule  by  an  understanding  with  Rome.  He  reigned 
for  thirty-seven  years,  and  died  of  a  loathsome  disease  at  the 
age  of  seventy  in  B.C.  4,  so  that  if  this  narrative  is  historical  the 
beginning  of  our  era  must  be  dated  at  least  four  years  earlier  than 
it  is.  He  had  murdered  his  sons  and  Mariamne  his  beautiful  and 
beloved  Jewish  wife  ;  he  was  so  hated,  in  spite  of  his  services  in 
rebuilding  the  Temple,  that  there  was  none  to  mourn  him,  and  he 
ordered  his  sister  Salome,  as  he  died,  to  shut  up  the  chief  of  the 
Jews  in  the  Hippodrome  and  massacre  them,  in  order  that  there 
might  be  weeping  on  the  occasion.     The  order  was  not  carried  out. 

Thus  Herod  the  King x  is  the  perfect  type  of  egotistical, 
tyrannical  worldly  governments.  He  symbolizes  the  harsh, 
successful,  fearful  rule  of  Self  in  the  Soul.  When  Christ  is  born 
in  the  heart  (Gal.  iv.  19)  it  is  under  the  reign  of  Herod  the  King, 
and  that  usurping  sovereign  does  all  in  his  power  to  crush  the 
rightful  Lord  in  His  infancy. 

1  '  He  was  in  a  word  a  perfectly  beautiful  animal,  a  lion,  in  which 
you  can  only  think  of  his  broad  chest  and  his  thick  mane,  without 
expecting  any  moral  sense  '  (Renan).  '  His  lance  was  unerring,  and 
his  arrow  seldom  missed  its  mark'  (Josephus,  B.J.  i.  21.  13).  His 
close  alliance  with  the  Caesars  is  another  point  in  the  symbolic 
meaning  of  Herod.  He  was  inaugurated  king  of  the  Jews  in  37  B.C. 
with  sacrifices  to  Jupiter  Capitolinus  by  Antony  and  Octavianus 
(afterwards  Augustus). 


St.  MATTHEW  II.  2,  3  n 

2  ing,  *  Where  is  he  that  is  born  King  of  the  Jews  ?  '  Or, 

r  i  •  -i  i  Where  is 

for  we  saw  his  star  in  the  east,  and  are  come  to  the  King 

,.,.  aii  tt  til-         i  i    of  the  Jews 

3  worship  him.     And  when  Herod  the  king  heard  that  is 
it,  he  was  troubled,  and  all  Jerusalem  with  him. 

Bethlehem  means  the  House  of  Bread.  Christ  born  in  the 
heart,  the  Bethlehem  of  the  heart,  is  the  true  Bread  that  cometh 
down  out  of  heaven.     John  vi.  48-51. 

ivise  men  from  the  east.  The  Greek  is  Magi  (cf.  Acts  xiii. 
6-8),  astrologers,  who  studied  the  heavens  to  learn  human  desti- 
nies, the  men  of  science  of  a  prescientific  age.  Legend  made 
them  kings,  gave  them  names,  and  determined  the  number 
three,  perhaps  because  the  gifts  were  threefold  (ver.  n).  But 
it  is  the  Wisdom,  not  the  Royalty,  of  the  world  that  comes  to 
the  feet  of  Jesus.  The  students  and  seekers  into  curious  lore 
stand  in  contrast  with  the  rulers  of  this  world,  typified  by  Herod 
the  King. 

his  star  in  the  cast.  Rather,  '  his  star  in  its  rising' — i.e.  a 
miraculous  star  which  dawned  on  them  in  their  distant  home,  and 
reappeared  guiding  them  to  the  spot  where  Jesus  was  (ver.  9). 
The  meaning  of  the  star  in  the  stor}'  is  explained  b}*-  Num.  xxiv. 
17,  18 — the  Star  out  of  Jacob  was  to  vanquish  Edom,  and  the 
Idumean  king — and  by  Rev.  xxii.  16,  '  I  am  the  root  and  the 
offspring  of  David,  the  bright,  the  morning  star.' 

to  worship  him.  Better  than  the  worship  of  the  leper, 
viii.  2  ,  for  there  is  no  interested  motive.  At  last  thej' 
will  come  from  all  lands  to  worship  Him,  and  to  bring  their 
offerings,  not  for  what  they  can  get,  but  for  what  He  is. 

3.  zvas  troubled,  and  all  Jerusalem  with  him.  We  can 
understand  why  Herod  was  troubled,  because  '  uneasy  lies  the 
head  that  wears  a  crown  '.  He  knew  that  there  was  an  expec- 
tation of  Messias,  and  people  were  excitable,  and  read}'  to  hail 
any  extraordinary  event  as  the  herald  of  His  appearance.  Herod 
slew  the  Sanhedrists,  and  did  his  best  to  crush  the  Messianic 
hopes.1  But  why  was  Jerusalem,  which  hated  Herod  and  longed 
for  her  Messiah,  troubled  with  him  ?  Because  nothing  troubles 
the  soul  more  than  Christ's  coming.  When  He  is  born  in  the 
heart,  to  dispute  the  sovereignty  of  Self,  the  agitation  is  distress- 
ing :  '  Depart  from  me,  for  I  am  an  unclean  man — why  art  thou 
come  to  trouble  me?'  is  the  cr}'of  the  man  who  yet  desires  Him. 

1  The  Herodians  were  prepared  to  accept  Herod  himself  as 
Messias.  They  quoted  Hagg.  ii.  3-9  to  show  that  Herod  fulfilled 
the  prophecy  by  his  magnificent  rebuilding  of  the  Temple.  Perhaps 
also  they  pointed  to  the  Book  of  Enoch  (xci.  13,  ed.  Dillmann),  which 
spoke  of  a  time  when  '  a  house  would  be  built  to  the  praise  of  the 
Great  Kinq-  for  ever  and  ever '. 


2  Gr. 
Alagi. 

3  Or,  the 
time  of 
the  stat 

that  ap 
Pea  red. 


12  St.  MATTHEW  II.  4-9 

And  gathering  together  all  the  chief  priests  and  4 
scribes  of  the  people,  he  inquired  of  them  where 
the   Christ   should   be   born.     And   they  said  5 
unto  him,   In  Bethlehem,  of  Judaea :  for  thus 
1  Or,  it  is  written  1  by  the  prophet, 

And  thou  Bethlehem,  land  of  Judah,  6 

Art  in  no  wise  least  among  the  princes  of 

Judah  : 
For  out  of  thee  shall  come  forth  a  governor, 
Which  shall  be  shepherd  of  my  people  Israel. 
Then  Herod  privily  called  the  -  wise  men,  and  7 
learned  of  them  carefully  3what  time  the  star 
time  of      appeared.     And  he  sent  them  to  Bethlehem,  8 

the  star  rr        , 

thatap-  and  said,  Go  and  search  out  carefully  concern- 
ing the  young  child ;  and  when  ye  have  found 
Mm,  bring  me  word,  that  I  also  may  come  and 
worship  him.  And  they,  having  heard  the  9 
king,  went  their  way ;  and  lo,  the  star,  which 
they  saw  in  the  east,  went  before  them,  till  it 


4.  where  the  Christ  should  be  born.  The  quotation  from  Mic.  v.  2 
is  neither  from  the  Hebrew  nor  the  LXX,  and  the  last  clause  of 
the  quotation  is  from  2  Sam.  v.  2.  This  shows  that  our  author 
here  is  quoting  from  memory,  or  from  the  collection  of  Messianic 
prophecies,  see  i.  22.  But  the  Targum  put  on  the  oracle  in  Micah 
a  Messianic  interpretation,  though  the  Talmudists  taught  that 
Messias  should  come  out  of  a  strange  unknown  place.  Both  views 
were  justified  in  the  event ;  Christ  was  born  in  Bethlehem,  but 
He  came  out  of  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  and  His  goings  forth 
had  been  from  of  old. 

7,  8.  Herod's  subtilty1  typifies  the  shifts  and  pretences  of  Self 
in  its  dealings  with  the  inborn  Christ.  It  always  affects  to 
worship  Him,  but  wishes  to  destroy  Him.  It  knows  that  with 
His  coming  its  day  is  over,  and  yet  it  pretends  to  yield  Him 
homage.  As  Monod  shows,  it  is  a  gradual  process  from  '  All  of 
Self  and  none  of  Thee'  to  '  None  of  Self  and  all  of  Thee.' 

9-10.     The    star    moving   before  them  and  stopping  over  the 

1  Cultum  praetendit}  cult  rum  intend  it,  says  Archb.  Leighton. 


St.  MATTHEW  II.  10-12  13 

came  and  stood  over  where  the  young  child 

jo  was.     And   when   they  saw  the   star,  they  re- 

Jijoiced   with   exceeding  great  joy.     And    they 

came  into  the  house  and  saw  the  young  child 

with  Mary  his  mother;  and  they  fell  down  and 

worshipped  him  ;   and  opening  their  treasures 

they  offered  unto  him  gifts,  gold  and  frankin- 

ia  cense  and  myrrh.     And  being  warned  of  God 

in   a   dream   that   they  should   not   return'  to 


house  in  Bethlehem  is  clearly  a  supernatural  event,  and  it  is 
idle  to  seek  a  naturalistic  explanation  in  Astronomical  records  of 
peculiar  brilliancy  in  this  or  that  star  at  that  time,  or  in  some 
unusual  meteor — no  meteor  travels  for  months  and  stands  over 
a  particular  spot.  The  leading  of  a  star  was  worthy  of  so  great 
an  occasion  as  the  birth  into  the  world  of  the  Son  of  God ;  but 
the  story  here  told  is  not  attested  by  any  other  source  in  the 
New  Testament,  and,  from  the  literary  character  of  the  passage, 
is  not  to  be  offered  as  a  proof  of  our  Lord's  divinity.  The 
more  convincing  view  is  that  the  knowledge  of  His  divinity  gave 
birth  to  the  story  of  the  guiding  star. 

11.  into  the  house.  The  birth  in  a  manger  belongs  to  another 
cycle  of  the  Idyls  of  the  Infancy  ;  and  the  birth  in  a  cave,  which 
fills  so  large  a  space  in  Sacred  Art,  belongs  to  the  extra- 
canonical  legends.  Our  narrative  here  goes  on  the  supposition 
that  Joseph  and  Mary  were  living  in  Bethlehem  and  had  a  house 
of  their  own,  and  only  moved  to  Nazareth  later  (ver.  23).  It  is 
a  wholesome  reminder  that  the  religious  and  spiritual  value  of 
the  Gospel  does  not  depend  in  any  degree  on  these  details,  about 
which  there  might  well  be  many  diverse  accounts  when  the  Gospels 
were  written  sixty  or  seventy  years  after  the  birth  of  our  Lord. 

gifts  :  as  was  common  in  visiting  a  ruler  (1  Sam.  ix.  7  ; 
1  Kings  x.  2).  The  gold  and  the  frankincense  were  to  be  the 
gifts  brought  by  kings  to  Zion  in  the  brightness  of  her  rising 
(Isa.  Ix.  1-6).  Myrrh  was  a  large  ingredient  in  the  anointing  oil 
(Exod.  xxx.  23)  and  was  used  in  the  embalming  of  Jesus  (John  xix. 
39).  Wealth,  devotion,  love,  are  the  gifts  men  can  bring  to  Christ, 
not  divided  but  in  a  perpetual  combination ;  the  earthly  goods 
because  devotion  and  love  are  there  ;  the  incense  of  prayer  and 
praise ;  the  myrrh  which  proclaims  Him  King  and  Priest  immortal, 
because  without  these  the  gift  of  money  would  be  worthless 
to  Him. 

12.  in  a  dream.     This  gospel  gives  a  great  place  to  dreams  in 
divine  direction:  see  Matt.  i.   20  ;  ii.   12,   13,  19,  22  ;  xxvii.  19. 


r4  St.  MATTHEW  II.  13-15 

Herod,  they  departed  into  their  own   country 
another  way. 

Now  when  they  were  departed,  behold,  an  13 
angel  of  the  Lord  appeareth  to  Joseph  in  a 
dream,  saying,  Arise  and  take  the  young  child 
and  his  mother,  and  flee  into  Egypt,  and  be 
thou  there  until  I  tell  thee  :  for  Herod  will  seek 
the  young  child  to  destroy  him.     And  he  arose  14 
and  took  the  young  child  and  his  mother  by- 
night,  and  departed  into  Egypt;  and  was  there  15 
until  the  death  of  Herod  :  that  it  might  be  ful- 

The  Evangelist  from  his  own  experience  or  from  careful  inquiry 
had  found  how  frequent  this  method  of  spiritual  guidance  is.  It  is 
one  of  the  signs  of  the  Spirit's  presence  that  devout  minds  receive 
the  visitations  of  God  in  the  subconscious  self,  during  the  rest  and 
impassiveness  of  sleep  :  see  Joel  ii.  28.  If  we  lived  nearer  to 
God  in  our  waking  hours  perhaps  we  should  have  more  of  His 
communications  in  sleep.  We  might  sleep  always  at  Bethel, 
and  walk  every  day  by  heavenly  direction. 

13-123.  The  Magi  with  their  devotion  vanish  to  their  own  land  ; 
we  now  see  the  treatment  which  the  native  king  gives  to  the 
true  King  from  Heaven.  The  symbols  can  be 'easily  read.  Self 
drives  the  new-born  Christ  into  the  land  of  exile  and  bondage  ; 
but  God,  as  always  before,  calls  His  Son  out  of  Egypt.  Self  rages 
and  storms,  and  even  when  subdued  is  succeeded  by  Archelaus, 
though  only  for  a  season  (he  was  driven  from  the  throne  of 
his  small  tetrarchy  in  a.  d.  6),  and  Christ  finds  His  home 
only  in  despised  Nazareth,  the  heart  of  the  Nazarite.  It  is 
an  allegory  of  the  coming  of  Christ  into  the  soul.  The  outward 
events  are  secondary,  pictorial ;  the  inward  truth  is  primary  and 
real. 

13.  an  angel  of  the  Lord.  So  i.  20,  ii.  19.  In  Joseph's  dreams 
it  was  always  an  angel  speaking  to  him. 

flee  into  Egypt.  Onias,  son  of  Onias  III,  took  refuge  in 
Egypt,  where  Ptolemy  Philometor  allowed  him  to  build  the 
temple  at  Leontopolis,  fulfilling,  as  he  thought,  the  prophecy  of 
Isa.  xix.  18,  19.  This  temple  of  Jehovah  lasted  for  220  years,  and 
was  destroyed  by  Vespasian,  about  the  time  of  the  destruction  of 
the  Temple  at  Jerusalem,  a.  d.  70.  The  recent  discovery  of  its 
site  and  remains  is  amongst  the  marvels  of  Egyptology.  Ever 
since  Joseph  went  down  into  Egypt,  that  land  was  the  hiding-place 
for  God's  servants  :  out  of  it  He  called  His  Son. 

15.  until  the  death  of  Herod.     That  was  in  the  year  4  before  the 


St.  MATTHEW  II.  16,  17  i5 

filled  which  was  spoken  by  the  Lord  through 
the  prophet,   saying,  Out  of  Egypt  did  I  call 

16  my  son.     Then  Herod,  when  he  saw  that  he 
was  mocked  of  the  *  wise  men,  was  exceeding  l  Gr. 

Magi. 

wroth,  and  sent  forth,  and  slew  all  the  male 
children  that  were  in  Bethlehem,  and  in  all  the 
borders  thereof,  from  two  years  old  and  under, 
according  to  the  time   which  he  had  carefully 

17  learned  of  the  *wise  men.     Then  was  fulfilled 
that  which  was  spoken  2  by  Jeremiah  the  pro-  :  Or, 

through 

phet,  saying, 


birth  of  Christ  according  to  our  chronology.  How  long  the  holy 
family  was  in  Egypt  we  do  not  know — only  long  enough,  perhaps, 
to  make  this  oracle  of  Hosea  xi.  i  applicable.  This  and  other 
citations  from  the  prophets  in  this  Gospel  are  not  to  be  understood 
as  meaning  that  the  prophets  consciously  foretold  Christ  in  using 
the  language  :  but  they  used  words  which  found  a  striking  fulfil- 
ment in  the  events  of  Christ's  life  and  death.  '  It  is  with  the 
prophetic  references  as  with  songs  without  words.  The  composer 
has  a  certain  scene  or  state  of  mind  in  his  view,  and  writes  under 
its  inspiration  ;  but  you  are  not  in  his  secret,  and  cannot  tell, 
when  you  hear  the  music,  what  it  means.  But  let  the  key  be 
given,  and  you  find  new  meaning  in  the  music.  The  prophecies 
are  the  music,  the  key  is  the  history.  Given  the  prophecies  alone, 
you  could  with  difficulty  imagine  the  history  ;  given  the  history, 
you  can  understand  how  religious  fancy  might  discover  correspond- 
ing prophecies.  That  the  prophecies,  once  suggested,  might  react 
on  the  facts  and  lead  to  legendary  modifications  is,  of  course,  not  to 
be  denied '  (Prof.  A.  B.  Bruce  in  Expositor  s  Greek  Testament,  p.  78). 
16.  slew  the  male  children.  History  does  not  know  of  this 
massacre,  but  in  6  b.  c.  Herod  executed  his  two  sons  Alexander 
and  Aristobulus,  and  in  4  B.C.  his  eldest  son  Antipater.  Macrobius, 
Saturn,  ii.  4,  confuses  the  execution  of  the  sons  with  the  massacre 
at  Bethlehem.1  He  murdered  his  beloved  wife  Mariamne  the 
Asmonean.  Her  brother  Aristobulus,  the  high-priest,  he  drowned 
in  the  bath.  '  And  so  through  rivers  of  blood  Herod  waded  to  his 
doom'  i^Farrar).  It  is  quite  conceivable  that  in  a  fit  of  fear  he 
murdered  all  the  male  children  of  Bethlehem  under  two;  in  a 
town  so  small  the  males  born  at  the  time  with  Jesus  would  be 
very  few. 

1  '  Inter   pueros,    quos   in   Syria   Herodes   Rex    Iudseorum    intra 
bimatum  iussit  interfici.' 


16  St.  MATTHEW  II.  18-21 

A  voice  was  heard  in  Raman,  18 

Weeping  and  great  mourning, 

Rachel  weeping  for  her  children ; 

And  she  would  not  be  comforted,  because 
they  are  not. 

But  when  Herod  was  dead,  behold, an  angel  of  19 
the  Lord  appeareth  in  a  dream  to  Joseph  in 
Egypt,  saying,  Arise  and  take  the  young  child  20 
and  his  mother,  and  go  into  the  land  of  Israel : 
for  they  are  dead  that  sought  the  young  child's 
life.     And  he  arose  and  took  the  young  child  21 
and  his   mother,  and   came  into  the  land  of 
Israel.     But  when  he  heard  that  Archelaus  was 

18.  The  citation  from  Jer.  xxxi.  15  is  pathetic  and,  poetic. 
We  are  not  to  think  of  Jeremiah  foretelling  this  massacre  ;  but,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  description  of  a  great  sorrow  in  the  prophet's 
day  suggests  the  sorrow  of  Bethlehem.  The  passage  in  Jeremiah 
is  rich  in  comfort :  the  land  is  mourning  for  her  exiles,  as  Rachel 
was  mourned  for  in  Bethlehem  (Gen.  xxxv.  19,  20,  xlviii.  7). 
Rachel's  tomb  was  there,  but  Jeremiah  was  holding  out  golden 
prospects  of  restoration.  It  was  one  of  those  dreams  of  Jeremiah 
which  on  awaking  he  found  to  be  sweet.  We  may  read,  there- 
fore, a  joy  into  the  mourning  at  Bethlehem,  and  may  believe  with 
the  Church  tradition  that  the  holy  innocents  who  were  massacred 
for  Jesus  were  in  a  true  sense  martyrs.  This  exquisite  evangelic 
thought  is  rendered  by  Holman  Hunt  in  his  '  Triumph  of  the 
Innocents ',  in  which  the  infants  wake  from  the  brief  sleep  of 
death,  and,  crowned  with  flowers,  or  pointing  joyously  to  the 
wounds  by  which  they  died,  dance  along  the  stream  of  the  river 
of  life  as  the  spiritual  companions  of  the  infant  Jesus.  This  is  the 
testimony  of  Jesus  and  the  patience  of  the  saints.  Christ's  victory 
is  such  that  the  apparent  outrages  of  the  foe  are  turned  into  joy  : 
cf.  Acts  v.  41. 

19.  when  Herod  was  dead.  The  most  splendid  and  successful 
king  in  alliance  with  Rome  died  of  a  loathsome  disease  in  his 
seventieth  year,  after  a  reign  of  brilliant  outward  success.  His 
crimes  were  innumerable  ;  his  virtues  gained  no  recognition  from 
the  Jews,  who  regarded  him  as  an  alien  and  a  usurper. 

20.  they  are  dead.  The  evil  power  is  vanquished,  and  Christ 
may  now  reign.  In  the  hope  of  such  security,  the  holy  family 
comes  back  to  its  own  land. 

22.  Archelaus  was  reigning.    The  power  of  evil  is  shattered  but 


St.  MATTHEW  II.  23  17 

reigning  over  Judaea  in  the  room  of  his  father 
Herod,  he  was  afraid  to  go  thither  j  and  being 
warned  of  God  in  a  dream,  he  withdrew  into  the 
23  parts  of  Galilee,  and  came  and  dwelt  in  a  city 
called  Nazareth  :  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which 

not  slain.  Herod's  son  Archelaus  was  but  an  ethnarch  and  divided 
his  father's  dominion  with  others,1  but  he  was  of  the  same  temper 
and  disposition  as  his  father,  naturally  hostile  to  the  Holy  Child. 
The  warning  dream  told  Joseph  that  there  was  still  need  of  care 
and  retirement.  Galilee  was  remote  and  despised,  and  beyond 
the  jurisdiction  of  Archelaus.  There  the  child  might  grow  in 
quiet,  unobserved  and  undisturbed  by  the  powers  of  this  world. 

23.  Nazareth,  an  obscure  village  among  the  hills,  between 
Carmel  and  Tabor,  about  fifteen  miles  away  from  the  busy  shores 
of  the  lake,  on  which  Capernaum  was  situated.  All  the  evan- 
gelists show  how  despised  the  little  place  was,  and  how  incredible 
it  seemed  that  it  should  give  birth  to  any  one  or  anything  remark- 
able. Matthew  does  not  note  that  Joseph  had  lived  there  before. 
Mark  tells  us  that  Jesus  issued  from  the  town  to  begin  His 
ministry  (i.  9).  Luke  had  learned  that  Joseph  and  Mary  had  both 
lived  in  Nazareth  at  the  time  of  the  betrothal  (i.  26) ;  it  was  '  their 
own  city '  (ii.  39),  as  well  as  the  place  where  '  Jesus  was  brought 
up  '  (iv.  16).  John  knew  that  Jesus  was  designated  on  account  of 
his  home  'Jesus  of  Nazareth'  (i.  45),  and  that  designation  was 
familiar  in  the  Apostolic  Age  (Acts  x.  38). 

But  our  evangelist  sees  a  mystical  significance  in  the  con- 
nexion of  Jesus  with  this  despised  Nazareth.  He  had  in  view  some 
prophecy,  which  we  are  unable  to  identify,  declaring  that  Messias 
should  be  called  a  Nazarene.  He  supposes  that  the  holy  family 
was  led  to  settle  in  the  Galilean  village  in  order  that  this  oracle  of 
the  prophet  might  be  fulfilled. 

There  are  two  suggestions  for  finding  a  connexion  between  the 
name  Nazareth  and  our  Old  Testament  Scriptures  ;  but  neither  is 
very  satisfying.  (1)  We  are  referred  to  the  law  of  the  Nazarite, 
and  by  a  pun  on  the  name  Nazarite,  which  means  '  separated ' 
(Num.  vi.  13),  a  connexion  with  Nazareth  is  established.  But 
even  so,  we  have  no  passage  in  Scripture  which  says  that  Messias, 
like  Samson  (Judges  xiii.  7),  should  be  called  a  Nazarite.2    (2)  In 

1  The  ethnarch  had  Judsea,  Samaria,  and  Idumaea;  Antipas  was 
made  tetrarch  of  Galilee,  and  Philip  tetrarch  of  Gaulanitis.  After 
nine  years  of  misrule,  Archelaus  was  banished,  with  the  consent  of 
Augustus  :  with  him  the  kingdom  of  the  Jews  disappeared  (a.  d.  6), 
and  Judaea  was  administered  by  a  Roman  procurator. 

2  And  in  the  Hebrew,  TO,  a  Nazarite,  is  spelt  with  1,  not  with 
i%  as  in  Nazareth  :  the  two  letters  are  never  confounded. 

C 


18  St.  MATTHEW  II.  23 

» or,  was  spoken  '  by  the  prophets,  that  he  should 

tuougi     ^  called  a  Nazarene. 


Isa.  xi.  2  there  is  a  glorious  description  of  Messias,  as  a  shoot  out 
of  the  stock  of  Jesse,  and  a  branch  (a  Nezer)  out  of  his  roots  shall 
bear  fruit.  But  Isaiah  does  not  say  that  he  shall  be  called  a 
Nazarene,  only  that  he  shall  be  called  a  Nezer  (or  Branch). 

As,  therefore,  we  do  not  know  the  prophecy  which  was  ful- 
filled by  this  connexion  with  Nazareth,  we  can  only  trace  the 
divine  providence  which  brought  Jesus  to  Nazareth  on  more 
general  grounds. 

He  was  born  in  Bethlehem,  David's  city  ;  but  He  was  chased 
out  of  Judaea  by  the  despot  who  sat  upon  David's  throne.  He  came 
to  His  own,  and  His  own  received  Him  not.  Finding  no  place  in 
His  ancestral  country,  He  was  driven  to  an  insignificant  place  in 
'Galilee  of  the  Gentiles',  that  part  of  Palestine  which  was  then 
crowded  with  Hellenistic  cities,  and  had  become  a  highway  of 
traffic  between  the  East  and  the  West.  He  would  issue  forth  for 
His  world- redeeming  work,  not  from  Jerusalem  the  capital,  nor 
from  Bethlehem  with  its  famous  traditions,  but  from  a  village,  of 
which  no  one  had  ever  heard  ;  He  would  be  called  not  a  Jeru- 
salemite  or  a  Bethlehemite,  but  a  Nazarene. 

On  the  other  hand,  this  ejection  from  His  own  country  and 
banishment  to  a  semi-Gentile  district,  identified  Him  from  the  first 
with  the  whole  world  rather  than  with  Judaism,  and  enabled  Him 
at  the  outset  of  His  ministry  to  fulfil  the  prophecy  of  Isa.  ix.  i, 
which  foretold  the  emergence  of  Israel's  light  from  that  very 
region  (ch.  iv.  15). 

r  Such  a  separation  from  the  things  of  desire,  such  a  repudia- 
tion of  the  lordly  Self,  such  a  withdrawal  into  the  humility  and 
obscurity  which  know  nothing  of  the  world's  approbation,  are 
essential  to  the  Christian  life.  He  must  be  meek  and  lowly  of 
heart,  He  must  be  despised  and  rejected  of  men,  because  those 
whom  He  would  save  can  only  by  such  a  way  of  the  Cross  attain 
to  life  which  is  life  indeed.  If  we  may  not  think  of  the  Nazarite, 
the  ascetic  separated  from  the  world  and  consecrated  to  God,  we 
must  at  least  think  of  Nazareth  as  the  symbolic  word  for  that 
humility  which  shuns  the  eye  of  men  and  that  obscurity  which 
excites  their  contempt.  One  of  the  main  hindrances  to  faith  in 
Christ  is  the  ambition,  which  seeks  the  honour  trom  one  another, 
and  not  that  which  comes  from  God  alone.  '  He  shall  be  called  a 
Nazarene  '  has,  therefore,  a  spiritual  meaning  for  every  believer  in 
Jesus.  When  St.  Francis  asked  that  he  might  not  be  honoured  or 
praised,  he  was  a  Nazarene.  When  Thomas  a  Kempis  urges  us 
to  avoid  distinction  and  to  choose  rather  the  obscurity  of  the  cell, 
he  is  giving  us  a  true  lesson  in  the  Imitation  of  Christ. 


St.  MATTHEW  III.  1,  2  lg 

3      And  in  those  days  cometh  John  the  Baptist, 

preaching  in  the  wilderness   of  Judaea,  saying, 

a  Repent  ye ;  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at 


Ch.  iii-iv.  ii.     The  Prelude  to  the  Ministry  of  Jesus. 

(i)  The  ministry  of  John  the  Baptist,  iii.  1-12  ;  (2)  The  Baptism 
of  Jesus,  iii.  13-17  ;  (3)  The  Temptation  of  Jesus,  iv.  1-11. 

iii.   1-12.     The  Ministry  of  John. 

This  section  expands  Mark  i.  1-8.  Luke  also  expands  Mark  in 
another  way,  iii.  2-17. 

1.  in  those  days.  The  expression  is  suitable  in  Mark  i.  9,  which 
Matthew  is  following,  but  not  here  ;  the  days  of  Archelaus,  to  which 
ii.  23  refers,  had  long  passed  away.  A  new  emperor,  Tiberius, 
was  on  the  throne  of  the  Caesars. 

But  for  an  evangelist  there  is  but  one  time,  the  time  when  Jesus 
came;  that  is  in  his  mind.  He  glides  naturally  into  the  narrative  with 
the  conjunction  'and  ',  as  if  it  had  begun  in  Eternity.     So  it  had. 

cometh  John.  The  Greek  word  irapaylvfTai  is  used  in  ver.  13 
again.  'Cometh'  is  hardly  the  right  rendering;  'makes  his 
appearance  '  would  be  better.  It  suggests  the  startling  emergence 
of  a  striking  personality,  as  Josephus  (Antiq.  xviii.  5.  2)  shows, 
a  preacher  of  righteousness,  who  roused  the  jealous  apprehensions 
of  Herod  Antipas,  the  ruler  of  Galilee.  The  Jewish  historian 
tells  us  of  the  marriage  with  Herodias,  and  of  the  incarceration  and 
execution  of  John  in  the  Herodian  castle  of  Machaerus.  John  is  a 
great  figure  in  the  history  of  the  first  century,  which  even  the 
ordinary  historian  was  bound  to  notice.  The  emergence  of  Jesus 
was  too  spiritual,  too  much  without  observation,  to  attract  the 
notice  of  historians.  Though  nineteen  centuries  have  passed,  we 
do  not  yet  see  His  infinite  proportions. 

preaching.  An  old  word,  signifying  to  act  as  a  herald,  here 
receives  a  new  meaning.  No  object  of  the  announcement  is 
mentioned.  Preaching  henceforth  becomes  a  function  with  the 
implied  object,  Jesus.     It  is  heralding  Jesus. 

the  wilderness  of  Judcea,  the  Arabah,  the  rocky  and  uncultivable 
land  between  Jerusalem  and  the  Dead  Sea  ;  strictly  speaking  it 
did  not  reach  to  the  Jordan  Valley,  El  Ghor ;  but  we  are  to 
suppose  that  John  moved  with  the  multitude  from  the  wilderness 
to  the  river-bed  when  he  wished  to  baptize. 

2.  Repent  ye.  The  cry  of  the  prophets  from  Hosea  downward 
(Hos.  xiv.  1).  John  means,  Confess  and  turn  from  your  sins,  or 
vengeance  will  fall.  When  Jesus  takes  up  the  word  (iv.  17) 
He  means  this,  but  something  deeper  and  gladder  :  Turn  from 
3'our  sins,  drawn  by  the  good  news  of  the  Kingdom,  Mark  i.  15. 
For  John  the  Kingdom  of  God  means  the  punishment  of  rebels 

C  2 


20  St.  MATTHEW  III.  3-5 

i  Or,  hand.     For  this  is  he  that  was  spoken  of  !  by  3 

roug       jsajari  tjie  pr0phet,  saying, 

The  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness, 
Make  ye  ready  the  way  of  the  Lord, 
Make  his  paths  straight. 
Now  John  himself  had  his  raiment  of  camel's  4 
hair,  and  a  leathern  girdle  about  his  loins ;  and 
his   food  was  locusts  and  wild   honey.     Then  5 

against  the   King  ;    for  Jesus  it    means    the    establishment  of  a 
Father's  rule  in  the  heart  of  His  child. 

kingdom  of  heaven.  A  phrase  in  common  use  among  the 
Rabbis  (see  quotations  from  the  Mishna  in  Dalman's  The  JVords 
of  Jesus,  p.  219}.  Heaven  was  the  reverential  synonym  for  God  : 
cf.  Dan.  iv.  23,  2  Chron.  xxxii.  20.  Dalman  thinks  that  Jesus 
used  this  synon3rm  frequently.  Wellhausen  attributes  the 
phrase  to  the  evangelist,  writing  for  Jewish  readers  ;  in  Mark 
and  Luke  it  is  '  the  Kingdom  of  God  '.  The  meaning  of  the 
phrase,  on  the  lips  of  Jesus,  differs  widely  from  the  common 
Jewish  thought.  He  lays  the  stress  on  the  kingly  rule,  or 
sovereignty  of  God,  in  the  heart,  in  order  to  emphasize  the  truth 
that  the  King  is  also  the  Father.  Thus  He  speaks  of  '  the  king- 
dom of  the  Father ',  Matt.  xiii.  43,  xxvi.  29.  When  John  used 
the  phrase  he  had  in  view  some  such  vision  as  Dan.  ii.  44.  The 
prayer  for  the  Kingdom  of  God  was  familiar  to  Judaism,  but  the 
idea  of  Jesus  was  new  (vi.  10).  John  knew  that  the  Kingdom 
was  coming,  but  did  not  know  what  it  would  be. 

3.  The  quotation  is  from  Isa.  xl.  3.  but  all  three  evangelists,  in 
place  of  '  a  highway  for  our  God  ',  simply  speak  of '  his  paths  ',  in 
order  to  refer  the  words  to  Jesus,  the  bringerof  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

paths  :  the  word  suggests  a  way  made  by  constant  treading. 
Such  are  the  paths  of  Jesus,  worn  first  by  the  Master's  feet,  then 
by  the  myriads  who  follow  His  footprints. 

4.  John's  dress  identifies  him  with  Elijah,  who  was  to  come  as 
the  forerunner  of  Messias  (Mai.  iv.  5).  '  He  was  an  hairy  man 
and  girt  with  a  girdle  of  leather  about  his  loins  '  (2  Kings  i.  8). 
Unhappily  the  ascetic's  dress,  like  the  monk's  cowl,  was  often  a 
hypocritical  garment,  to  deceive  (Zech.  xiii.  4).  John's  sincerity 
was  above  suspicion  and  was  confirmed  by  his  martyrdom. 

locusts  :  (Lev.  xi.  22),  still  used  as  a  food  by  the  poor  in  Syria, 
roasted,  boiled  or  baked  in  cakes. 

wild  honey.  Probably  the  liquid  exuding  from  palms  and  fig- 
trees,  the  food  of  the  very  poor.  Bee-honey  and  milk  were 
delicacies,  suggestions  of  a  fruitful  land.  John  drew  men  by  his 
austerities.  Only  by  prayer  and  fasting  can  the  worst  evils  of 
this  world  be  cast  out. 


St.  MATTHEW  III.  6,  7  2r 

went  out  unto  him  Jerusalem,  and  all  Judaea, 

6  and  all  the  region  round  about  Jordan  ;  and 
they  were  baptized  of  him  in  the  river  Jordan, 

7  confessing  their  sins.  But  when  he  saw  many 
of  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  coming  to  his 
baptism,  he  said  unto  them,  Ye  offspring  of 
vipers,  who  warned  you  to  flee  from  the  wrath 

5.  Then.  That  is  a  characteristic  conjunction  of  our  evangelist's, 
a  mannerism,  an  unconscious  watermark  of  his  style.  It  is  used 
ninety  times  in  this  gospel,  only  six  in  Mark. 

Jerusalem.  Even  the  proud  and  self-satisfied  capital  was 
touched  ;  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  joined  in  the  religious 
movement  in  order  to  control  it,  and  were  lashed  by  the  prophet's 
invective  accordingly  (ver.  7). 

the  region  round  about  Jordan  includes  not  only  the  Kikkar 
of  the  Old  Testament,  viz.  the  plain  of  Jericho  and  the  Dead  Sea, 
but  the  whole  Arabah  and  the  Jordan  valley. 

6.  were  baptized^ . . .  confessing.  Cf.  Acts  xix.  18.  Such  confession 
was  quite  in  accord  with  the  Law,  Num.  v.  7.  The  Baptism,  a 
very  natural  symbol  of  a  clean  life  ensuing  on  repentance,  was 
John's  own  idea,  and  gave  him  his  name  in  history.  The  later 
Jewish  practice  of  subjecting  proselytes  to  a  complete  submergence 
beneath  water  may  have  been  observed  before  John  ;  but  direct 
proof  is  wanting.  Not  only  is  John's  Baptism  very  distinctive, 
but  it  is  the  first  Baptism  which  emerges  into  clear  historic  light. 

7.  The  words  which  in  Luke  iii.  7-9  are  directed  to  the  people, 
are  here  turned  specially  to  the  religious  leaders,  the  Pharisees, 
the  party  of  piety,  and  the  Sadducees,  the  party  of  a  worldly  wise 
legalism.  Their  application  for  Baptism  was  hypocritical,  they 
were  inwardly  rejoicing  in  the  fact  that  they  were  Abraham's 
seed,  and  thanking  God  that  they  were  not  as  other  men. 

offspring-  of  vipers.  On  a  harvest-field  when  the  stubble  was 
burned,  the  vipers  might  be  seen  wriggling  away  and  trying  to 
escape.  That  is  the  immediate  point  of  the  comparison,  here  and 
in  the  words  of  Jesus,  ch.  xxiii.  33.  But  Jesus  also  compared  the 
sneaking  and  venomous  hypocrisy  of  His  time  to  vipers,  xii.  34. 

who  luarncd you.  The  Aramaic  word  which  lies  behind  the 
Greek,  chavvi  (cf.  Esth.  ii.  10,  20 ;  Tobit  iv.  2,  18),  would  mean 
simply  'said  that  you  were  to  '.  John's  question  means  :  'What, 
you  here  !  I  did  not  expect  you  to  be  moved.  But  if  you  do 
come  to  be  baptized,  if  your  repentance  is  real  and  not  assumed, 
I  must  see  some  fruit,  and  not  that  idle  reliance  on  your  descent 
from  Abraham '.  John  was  doubtless  severe,  after  the  manner  of 
the  old  order  that  was  passing  away  ;  but  his  severity  to  the 
Pharisees  and  Sadducees  far  exceeded  his  severity  to  the  common 


22  St.  MATTHEW  III.  8-11 

to  come  ?     Bring  forth  therefore  fruit  Vorthy  of  8 

1  0r>  !  repentance  :  and  think  not  to  say  within  your-  9 

your  re-  r 

pentance  selves,  We  have  Abraham  to  our  father :  for 
I  say  unto  you,  that  God  is  able  of  these  stones 
to  raise  up  children  unto  Abraham.  And  even  10 
now  is  the  axe  laid  unto  the  root  of  the  trees  : 
every  tree  therefore  that  bringeth  not  forth  good 
fruit   is   hewn   down,   and   cast   into   the   fire. 

2  Or,  in      I  indeed  baptize  you  2  with  water  unto  repent-  1 1 

ance :  but  he  that  cometh  after  me  is  mightier 

than  I,  whose  shoes  I  am  not 3  worthy  to  bear  : 

c?entsujn~  he  shall  baptize  you  2  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and 

people,  because  he,  like  Jesus  after  him,  did  not  believe  in  their 
sincerity. 

8.  fruit.  Not  fruits,  but  one  harmonious  whole,  viz.  a  virtuous 
character.  Cf.  Gal.  v.  22.  The  only  test  of  real  repentance  is 
the  result  in  life. 

9.  We  have  Abraham,  &c.  This  denunciation  against  a  false 
trust  in  Jewish  birth  is  quite  in  the  spirit  of  the  noblest  Hebrew 
prophecy.  Cf.  Amos  iii.  2.  Why  should  a  favoured  people  trust 
in  their  privileges  when  God  is  able  out  of  mere  stones  to  make 
other  such  children  of  privilege  ?  What  is  man  ?  God  made  him. 
How  can  we  boast  ?  we  are  His  workmanship,  created  out  of 
nothing,  only  by  His  grace  one  whit  better  than  the  lifeless  stones 
of  the  Judaean  desert. 

10.  good  fruit.  In  the  Syriac  'good  '  is  omitted,  and  rightly; 
for  the  contrast  is  not  between  good  and  bad  fruit,  but  between 
fruit-bearing  and  fruitlessness.  As  he  spoke  to  them  he  saw 
them  as  trees,  fruitless  trees,  and  the  axe  laid  to  their  root,  fit 
only  for  burning  (cf.  John  xv.  2-6). 

11.  John's  humility  is  beautiful.  He  knew  that  a  baptism  of 
water  unto  repentance  was  but  a  small  beginning  compared  with 
the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  Fire  which  Christ  would 
administer.  A  servant  carries  his  master's  sandals,  but  John  does 
not  feel  worthy  to  do  even  this  menial  office  for  the  Mighty  One. 
At  the  same  time,  he  by  no  means  understood  the  true  greatness 
of  his  successor.  He  thought  that  the  Holy  Spirit  was  a  stormy 
wind  of  judgement,  like  Isa.  lxiv.  6,  xli.  16,  xl.  7,  iv.  4.  And  the 
fire  was  '  the  spirit  of  burning '  of  the  last  cited  passage,  the  fire 
which  burns  up  the  chaff  when  the  wheat  is  garnered.  He  was 
not  prepared  to  see  the  Holy  Spirit  as  a  dove  ;  that  was  Christ's 
own  vision,  ver.  16.     Nor  did  he  dream  that  the  fire  would  be  the 


St.  MATTHEW  III.   12-14  a 

12  with  fire :  whose  fan  is  in  his  hand,  and  he  will 
throughly  cleanse  his  threshing-floor;  and  he 
will  gather  his  wheat  into  the  garner,  but  the 
chaff  he  will  burn  up  with  unquenchable  fire. 

13  Then  cometh  Jesus  from  Galilee  to  the  Jordan 

14  unto  John,  to  be  baptized  of  him.     But  John 

love  that  burns  in  the  sacrifice  of  the  Cross,  Acts  ii.  3.  One 
should  remember  that  Spirit  in  Greek.  Latin  and  Hebrew,  means 
'  wind  '.  The  saying  '  He  shall  baptize  you  with  holy  Wind  and 
Fire  \  has  a  mystic  meaning.  He  shall  apply  to  you  all  the 
elements  except  earth,  viz.  water,  air,  and  fire.  In  Mark  i.  8,  the 
fire  is  omitted.  The  mingling  of  fire  and  water  was  a  paradox 
from  which  a  reporter  might  shrink,  but  it  is  eminently  like 
Jesus,  and  absolutely  true,  in  the  Spirit. 

12.  John's  notion  of  the  fire  echoes  the  old  prophets,  Mai.  iii. 
2  seq.  ;  Amos  vii.  4. 

threshing-floor.  Cf.  2  Esdras  iv.  30  ;  it  means  the  piled-up 
sheaves  of  the  field.  The  cleansing  consists  in  winnowing  the 
grain  and  getting  rid  of  the  chaff :  see  Ps.  i.  4. 

unquenchable  fire.  While  the  fire  of  Jesus  is  very  different 
from  what  John  conceived,  that  sterner  element  in  His  baptism  is 
not  to  be  forgotten  :  cf.  Mark  ix.  43,  48.  '  Out  of  his  mouth 
proceeds  "a  sharp  two-edged  sword  and  his  countenance  is  as  the 
sun  shineth  in  his  strength  '  (Rev.  i.  16).  The  Jesus  of  the  Trans- 
figuration is  the  real  Jesus  (Matt.  xvii.  a).  John  was  correct  in 
thinking  that  our  Lord  is  a  consuming  fire,  but  he  had  not  yet 
apprehended  the  nature  of  that  fire,  the  Love  which  burns  with 
a  destructive  power  against  all  that  is  opposed  to  love.  As  the 
object  of  the  farmer  is  to  get  the  pure  wheat  from  chaff,  so  it  is 
Christ?s  object  to  get  pure  souls,  aflame  with  love,  free  from  the 
dross  and  the  impurities  which  depreciate  them. 

Such  is  the  Fire,  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  comes  to  us  now  from 
Galilee. 

vv.  13-17.     The  Baptism  of  Jesus. 

13.  Then  cometh  Jesus.  He  comes  from  Galilee,  the  despised 
quarter  of  the  land,  and  from  that  despised  Nazareth  ;  not,  like  the 
Pharisees  and  Sadducees,  from  the  exalted  capital.  Nor  does  He, 
like  them,  come  merely  '  to  the  baptism  ',  ver.  7,  i.  e.  to  observe,  to 
criticize,  perhaps  loftil}'  to  approve  its  application  to  the  sinful  crowd ; 
but  He  comes  to  the  Baptizer  himself,  and  comes  to  be  baptized. 
Mark  i.  9)  mentions  Nazareth  because  he  had  not  named  it  before. 
Matthew  and  Luke,  having  named  it  before,  omit  it.  Its  insigni- 
ficance encourages  such  oversight.  The  Man  of  Nazareth  means 
man  at  his  lowliest,  man  despised  and  rejected  of  men,  John  i.  46. 

14.  Jesus  comes  straight  to  John,  in  humility  surpassing  John 


24  St.  MATTHEW  III.   15,  16 

would  have  hindered  him,  saying,  I  have  need 
to  be  baptized   of  thee,  and   comest   thou  to 
me  ?     But   Jesus    answering    said    unto    him,  15 
1  Or,  me     Suffer  '  it  now:  for  thus  it  becometh  us  to  fulfil 

all  righteousness.    Then  he  suffereth  him.    And  16 
Jesus,  when  he  was  baptized,  went  up  straight- 
way from  the  water :  and  lo,  the  heavens  were 

himself.  There  is  a  struggle  between  the  humilities  of  the  fore- 
runner and  of  the  Christ ;  and  in  this,  as  in  all  things,  Jesus  is 
Conqueror.  John  alone  had  insight  to  see  the  amazing  signifi- 
cance of  this  humiliation.  He  was  baptizing  '  for  the  remission 
of  sins '  Mark  i.  4,  he  the  sinner,  who  had  not  been  himself 
baptized.  And  behold  his  Lord  comes  to  him,  the  Lamb  of  God 
that  takes  away  the  sin  of  the  world  (John  i.  29),  himself  sinless, 
to  be  baptized  of  him  !  Matthew  omits  from  iii.  1  the  statement 
that  the  baptism  was  '  for  the  remission  of  sins  ',  as  if  to  make 
room  for  this  baptism  of  the  Sinless  One.  But  Mark  was  right ; 
Jesus  was  baptized  i  for  the  remission  of  sins ',  but  not  for  His 
own  ;  it  was  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world.  The  contrast  with 
John,  and  still  more  with  the  Pharisees,  is  startling.  John  is  the 
censor, baptizing, not  baptized ;  the  Phariseesfeel  no  needof  baptism 
for  themselves.  But  the  true  sinlessness  includes  love,  and  love 
takes  the  place  of  sinners,  identifies  itself  with  their  distressing  case. 
He  will  be  made  like  unto  His  brethren  ;  in  being  baptized  for  the 
remission  of  sins,  though  He  was  free  from  sin,  He  was  baptized  for 
the  remission  ofthesinsof  those  whose  place  He  had  taken. 

15.  all  righteousness.  The  phrase  is  pregnant.  Like  the 
opening  heaven  and  the  descending  dove,  it  is  a  truth  which  no 
one,  not  even  John,  could  apprehend  at  the  time.  When  the 
Twentieth  Century  New  Testament  renders  the  words,  '  since  it  is 
fitting  for  us  thus  to  satisfy  every  claim  of  religion,'  it  gives  only 
the  most  superficial  meaning  of  the  words.  He  would  identify 
Himself  with  the  sinful  people  by  sharing  their  baptism,  but  the 
righteousness  He  had  in  view  was  something  far  more  than  the 
due  discharge  of  existing  religious  claims  ;  it  was  the  righteousness 
of  which  St.  Paul  afterwards  spoke  in  Rom.  x.  6,  the  righteous- 
ness which  is  of  God  by  faith,  the  righteousness  of  the  Just  for  the 
unjust.  The  Baptism  was  the  initial  step,  deliberately  taken,  in  as- 
suming the  sins  of  the  world,  that  He  might  bear  them  away.  Here 
He  began  the  work  which  He  finished  on  the  cross.  John,  by  the 
Spirit,  recognized  this  in  his  exclamation,  John  i-.  29,  and  every  one 
recognizes  it  in  the  moment  when  he  casts  his  sins  on  J  esusas  the  Sin- 
bearer,  and  finds  the  regeneration  which  accompanies  forgiveness. 

16.  With  Jesus  also  the  baptism  precedes  the  descent  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.     It  is  with  the  act  of  obedience  that  the  revelation 


St.  MATTHEW  III.  17  25 

opened  l  unto   him,  and  he  saw  the  Spirit   of  1  Some 

, ,      ■,     j  1 .  1  !  •  ancient 

God  descending  as  a  dove,  and  coming  upon  authori- 
1 7  him ;  and  lo,  a  voice  out  of  the  heavens,  say-  »S°Kw. 

comes.  The  temptation  is,  to  wait  for  the  revelation  before 
obeying.  Many  after  adult  baptism  have  experienced  this  open- 
ing of  the  heavens.  Many  more  have  experienced  it  after  the 
simple  and  emotionless  fulfilment  of  some  known  demand  of 
God.  The  baptism  in  the  chill  wave  has  no  apparent  result ;  but 
going  up  straightway  from  the  water,  you  see  the  heavens  opened. 
The  vision  of  the  Dove  expresses  the  inward  thought  of  Jesus. 
Luke  iii.  22,  implying  that  the  Dove  was  seen  by  others  descend- 
ing '  as  a  bodily  form  '  on  Him,  is  just  that  kind  of  change  which 
the  record  of  an  inward  experience  undergoes,  as  narrators  are 
further  removed  from  the  event.  Matthew  and  Mark  only  say  that 
Jesus  Himself  saw  the  dove.  'The  evangelist,'  says  Chrysostom, 
'did  not  say  "in  the  nature",  but  "in  the  form",  of  a  dove.' 
What  does  the  form  of  a  dove  mean  ?  An  old  commentator, 
Euthymius  Zigabenus,  says  :  '  The  bird  is  a  lover  of  men  and  bears 
ills  patiently  ;  for  robbed  of  its  young  it  endures  and  lets  the  robbers 
approach  it  just  the  same  :  it  is  the  purest  of  creatures  and  delights 
in  sweet  odour. '  The  O.  T.  basis  of  the  symbol  is  the  dove  which 
appeared  with  the  olive-branch  after  the  flood,  Gen.  viii.  9,  10. 

17.  Strange  to  say,  while  Luke  represents  the  dove  as  visible 
to  the  people,  he  suggests  that  the  voice  came  only  to  Jesus, 
'  Thou  art  my  beloved  son.'  So  also  Mark.  Matthew,  on  the 
other  hand,  implies  that  it  was  just  the  reverse  :  the  voice  was 
addressed  to  the  crowd  :  '  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am 
well  pleased,'  and  so  Matt.  xvii.  5.  But  evidently  both  the  Dove 
and  the  authenticating  voice  l  are  to  be  understood  as  the  means 
b3r  which  to  the  consciousness  of  Jesus  His  person  is  accepted 
and  His  mission  is  authenticated.  As  time  went  on  it  became 
incredible  that  Jesus  ever  stood  in  need  of  such  inward  assurance. 
His  divinity  was  understood  to  imply  that  from  His  cradle  He  was 
conscious  of  being  the  Divine  Word,  the  Son  of  God.  As  a  babe 
He  pointed  to  His  lips — so  the  old  masters  constantly  represent 
it — indicating  that  He  was  the  revelation,  the  Word,  of  God.  But 
the  plain  and  simple  statement  in  St.  Mark,  i.  9-1 1,  conveys  the 
impression  to  which  more  and  more  modern  theology  inclines, 
that  up  to  the  time  of  the  Baptism  Jesus  was  developing  in 
a  thoroughly  human  way,  striving  like  any  one  of  us  to  under- 
stand His  vocation  and  to  know  what  He  was,  and  what  was  His 
Father's  business  in  which  He  must  be  occupied.  The  experiences 
and  expectations  of  His  parents  influenced  Him  no  more  than 

1  The  voice,  in  Hebrew  the  bath-kol,  is  a  reverential  phrase  for  the 
divine  revelation  :  cf.  Dan.  iv.  31.  It  is  definitely  used  to  show  that 
the  confirmation  of  Jesus  was  supernatural. 


26  St.  MATTHEW  III.  17 

1  Or,  This  ing,  l  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am 


is  my 


Son;  my    well  pleased. 


those  of  our  parents  have  influenced  us.  For  the  long  years  in 
Nazareth,  before  His  manifestation  to  Israel,  He  pondered  and 
prayed  and  studied  the  Scripture.  That  silent  prelude  has  never 
been  written  ;  the  struggles  it  implied  are  unrecorded  ;  no  one, 
not  even  the  angels,  can  peer  into  the  mystery  of  that  Divine 
Nature  assimilating  human  form  and  passing  through  human 
experience.  Curiosity  beats  its  wings  against  the  secret  growth 
and  inward  realization  in  vain. 

When  Jesus  emerges  from  His  obscurity,  the  conflict  is  over 
and  the  victory  is  won.  Milton  says  of  Cromwell,  that  he  had 
gained  his  conquests  before  he  began  his  public  career,  by  the 
conquest  over  himself.  In  a  far  deeper  and  fuller  sense  Jesus 
during  those  thirty  silent  years  had  won  His  way  to  a  clear  self- 
consciousness,  such  as  He  expresses  in  Matt.  xi.  25-7.  But  the 
inward  conviction  must  be  ratified  by  some  outward  experience. 
The  opportunity  for  this  was  offered  by  the  ministry  of  John. 
Jesus  recognized  that  this  was  '  the  voice  crying  in  the  wilderness, 
Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  His  paths  straight'.  He 
went  to  that  baptism  to  receive  the  witness  which  He  required  ; 
not  so  much  the  witness  of  John,  He  needed  not  the  witness  of 
man,  but  the  witness  of  His  Father.  The  vision  of  the  Dove, 
and  the  voice  '  Thou  art  my  beloved  Son  in  whom  I  am  well 
pleased ',  were  the  sufficient  confirmation.  He  went  from  that 
baptism  with  the  calm  and  unfaltering  assurance  which  is  among 
the  most  amazing  of  His  characteristics.  The  authentication  was 
no  surprise  to  Him  ;  but  it  was  part  of  that  orderly,  inevitable 
development,  by  which  He  grew  in  the  stature  of  His  Divine 
humanity.  Thus  the  Baptism  of  Jesus  is  no  formal,  or  half-scenic, 
manifestation,  to  make  appeal  to  men  ;  it  is  a  real  point,  an  essential 
factor  in  the  Person  and  mission  of  Jesus. 

It  was  Baldensperger  who  first  brought  out  the  full  significance 
of  the  Baptism  as  the  dawn  of  the  Messianic  consciousness  in  our 
blessed  Lord.  Dr.  Mackintosh,  in  vol.  xvi  of  the  Expository  Times, 
has  some  interesting  papers  on  the  subject.  He  says  that  the 
vision  and  the  voice  were  addressed  to  Jesus  Himself,  though  John 
may  have  partially  [shared  the  experience.  4  That  is  plainly 
affirmed  in  Mark  ;  not  less  plainly,  if  in  different  words,  in  the 
First  Gospel,  nor  is  the  language  of  the  Third  Gospel  really 
inconsistent  with  this.  Even  Luke  merely  uses  the  language  of 
antique  realism,  a  terminology  more  or  less  shared  by  all  our 
records.  Where  a  modern  Christian  might  say,  "  He  saw  in 
vision  Heaven  opened,"  and  so  forth,  one  Gospel  says,  "  He  saw 
Heaven  opened,"  another  "  Heaven  opened  to  Him,"  and 
another  simply  "Heaven  opened" — probably  according  to  their 
own  thinking,  with  no  discrepancy  in  meaning.' 
my  beloved  Son — a  tacit  reference  to  i.  20. 


St.  MATTHEW  IV.  1,  2  27 

4      Then  was  Jesus  led  up  of  the  Spirit  into  the  in  whom 

2  wilderness  to  be  tempted  of  the  devil.     And  puZsed.' 

when  he  had  fasted  forty  days  and  forty  nights,  xiLiV.' 


Ch.  iv.  i-ii.     The  Temptation  of  Jesus. 

1.  led  up:  sc.  from  the  deep  Jordan  valley,  El  Ghor,  to  the 
rocky  and  lonely  heights  which  rise  from  Jericho  to  Jerusalem. 

of  the  Spirit.  The  tempter  is  not  God  (Jas.  i.  13),  but  Satan, 
Diabolus  (i  Thess.  iii.  5,  1  Cor.  vii.  5).  And  yet,  as  in  the  pro- 
logue to  Job,  Satan  is  always  under  the  control  of  God,  and  his 
work  serves  the  Divine  ends.  Thus  in  2  Sam.  xxiv.  r  we  read 
that  the  Lord  moved  David  to  number  Israel,  and  the  chronicler 
(1  Chron.  xxi.  1)  corrects  the  statement :  '  Satan  stood  up  against 
Israel  and  moved  David  to  number  Israel.'  The  Tempter  only 
acts  as  the  agent  by  whom  the  necessary  tests  and  trials  are 
offered  to  the  soul,  and  can  tempt  no  man  above  that  he  is  able  to 
bear.  These  temptations  are  necessary  to  the  training  of  the  soul. 
The  word  translated  '  tempt  *  is  in  2  Cor.  xiii.  5  translated  '  try ' ; 
and  there  it  appears  how  such  a  testing  whether  we  be  in  the 
faith,  is  really  a  condition  of  our  being  in  the  faith  ;  so  that  even 
James,  who  will  not  admit  that  God  tempts,  yet  says  (ch.  i.  2) 
'  Count  it  all  joy  when  ye  fall  into  manifold  temptations'. 

Thus  it  is  the  Holy  Spirit  that  leads  the  soul.  St.  Mark  uses 
a  much  stronger  term,  t/cfiaWei,  'casts  the  soul  out' — into  the  waste, 
the  haunts  of  wild  beasts — and  of  angels — (Mark  i.  13^,  'to  be 
tempted  of  the  devil.'  Iron  wire,  turned  out  of  the  mill,  must  be 
tested  by  a  pressure  equal  to  the  utmost  weight  which  it  will  have 
to  bear,  before  it  leaves  the  shed.  To  such  a  proof  every  soul 
must  be  subjected.  We  may  face  the  trial  in  holy  confidence 
when  we  observe  that  even  Christ  was  led  up  b}'  the  Spirit  to  be 
tempted  in  all  points  like  as  we  are. 

2.  Mark  (i.  13)  does  not  say  that  He  fasted  forty  da}'S  and  nights. 
The  reminiscence  of  Deut.  ix.  9,  1  Kings  xix.  8  is  plain.  Luke 
alters  the  order  of  the  temptations.  But  these  things  are  not 
important.  The  point  of  the  narrative  is  that  this  is  Christ's  own 
version  of  what  befel  Him;  this  is  the  imagery  under  which  He 
thought  it  best  to  describe  to  His  disciples  the  temptations  by 
which  He  was  assailed.  To  lay  stress  on  the  details  is  to  forget 
His  figurative  mode  of  speech.  The  real  object  is  to  dive  below 
the  form,  and  to  find  where  the  trial  of  His  soul  really  lay. 

The  spirit  in  the  Baptism  had  just  attested  (1)  His  Sonship 
to  God  ;  (2)  His  Messianic  mission.  It  is  along  the  line  of  this 
twofold  revelation  to  Him  that  a  twofold  temptation  presents 
itself,  viz  :  (1)  To  presume  on  His  divine  powers,  overriding  the 
laws  of  nature,  for  His  own  comfort,  or  for  the  vindication  of  His 
mission  ;  (2)  To  secure  His  rule  over  the  world  by  the  ordinary 


28  St.  MATTHEW  IV.  3-6 

he  afterward  hungered.     And  the  tempter  came  3 
and  said  unto  him,  If  thou  art  the  Son  of  God, 

1  Gr.         command   that   these   stones   become   l  bread. 

/oaves.        •But  ^  answerecj  an(j  sai(jj  it  is  written,  Man  4 

shall  not  live  by  bread  alone,  but  by  every  word 
that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God.  Then  5 
the  devil  taketh  him  into  the  holy  city ;  and  he 
■wing.         set  him  on  the  2  pinnacle  of  the  temple,  and  6 

worldly  way  of  making   Himself  a  great  leader  and  potentate, 
aspiring  to  an  earthly  throne. 

3.  The  first  temptation  is  this  :  I  am  hungry,  I  need  food  for  the 
body ;  shall  I  bring  the  supernatural  powers  entrusted  to  me,  to 
make  bread,  and  to  satisfy  my  appetite  ?  Both  this  and  the  second 
temptation  spring  out  of  His  assured  position  as  the  Son  of  God. 
Shall  the  Son  of  God  be  left  hungry  ?  Shall  not  the  Son  of  God 
be  miraculously  delivered  from  any  danger  to  which  He  shall  be 
exposed  ?  To  the  first  question  He  replies  with  Deut.  viii.  3,  and 
gains  the  position  once  for  all,  that  the  food  of  His  body  shall 
be  no  concern  to  Him,  but  He  will  live  by  every  word  of  God. 
Out  of  this  victory  springs  the  teaching  of  Matt.  vi.  19-34. 

5.  The  second  temptation.  Shall  not  the  Son  of  God  be  miracu- 
lously delivered  from  every  danger  ?  Shall  not  angels  bear 
him  up,  according  to  Ps.  xci.  11,  12  ?  The  answer  comes  at  once  : 
the  purpose  of  the  Son  of  God  in  the  world  is  not  to  be  delivered, 
but  to  deliver.  Trial,  suffering,  and  death  await  Him  ;  arrested  by 
enemies,  He  will  not  summon  legions  of  angels  to  help  Him  ; 
nailed  to  a  cross,  He,  the  Son  of  God,  will  not  come  down 
(Mark  xv.  32;  Luke  xxiii.  35).  Confident  that  the  Father  can  and 
will  deliver  Him,  if  He  wills,  He  will  not  '  tempt '  Him,  or  make 
such  self-chosen  experiments  the  test  of  His  faith.  The  word  of 
Deut.  vi.  16  comes  to  His  mind  and  settles  the  question. 

the  holy  city.  That  is  frequently  the  scene  of  the  sorest 
temptation.  We  are  to  suppose  that  He  was  carried  to  the  temple 
in  the  same  sense  that  Ezekiel  was  (Ezek.  viii.  3). 

the  pinnacle  of  the  temple.  Lit.  wing:  see  Dan.  ix.  27.  Asa 
bodily  experience,  there  would  be  no  great  temptation  to  plunge 
down  from  that  dizzy  height  into  the  Kedron  valley  ;  but  it  was  a 
vision,  and  the  spiritual  test  clothed  itself  in  this  form.  Was  He 
to  live  among  men  '  giving  signs ',  and  overwhelming  them  with 
proofs  of  the  supernatural  ?  No,  here  the  question  was  settled  ; 
'  no  sign  should  be  given.'  He  would  not  attest  His  Sonship  by 
miracles.  He  would  manifest  it  only  by  itself.  Men  should 
believe  Him  for  what  He  was,  because  He  had  the  twofold  wit- 
ness of  Himself  and  of  the  Father,  and  not  for  the  wonders  He 


St.  MATTHEW  IV.  7-11  29 

saith  unto  him,  If  thou  art  the  Son  of  God,  cast 

thyself  down  :  for  it  is  written. 

He  shall  give  his  angels  charge  concerning 

thee : 
And  on  their  hands  they  shall  bear  thee  up, 
Lest  haply  thou  dash  thy  foot  against  a  stone. 

7  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Again  it  is  written,  Thou 

8  shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord  thy  God.  Again,  the 
devil  taketh  him  unto  an  exceeding  high  moun- 
tain, and  sheweth  him  all  the  kingdoms  of  the 

9  world,  and  the  glory  of  them  ;  and  he  said  unto 
him,  All  these  things  will  I  give  thee,  if  thou 

10  wilt  fall  down  and  worship  me.  Then  saith 
Jesus  unto  him,  Get  thee  hence,  Satan  :  for  it 
is  written,  Thou  shalt  worship  the   Lord  thy 

11  God,  and  him  only  shalt  thou  serve.     Then  the 


wrought.  He  would,  as  Son  of  God,  live  the  ordinary  human 
life,  exposed  to  all  its  accidents  and  sufferings.  By  this  decision 
Gethsemane  and  Calvary  became  possible. 

8.  The  third  temptation  arises  out  of  His  Messiahship,  and  the 
current  expectation  of  a  wordly  sovereign  who  would  raise  up  the 
tabernacle  of  David,  and  establish  a  throne  in  Jerusalem.  Again 
we  must  not  seek  the  mountain  in  terrestrial  geography  ;  nor  must 
we  imagine  that  the  devil  asking  Him  to  fall  down  and  worship 
Him  would  have  presented  any  real  seduction  to  the  soul  of  Jesus. 
The  principle  of  Deut.  vi.  13  was  far  too  axiomatic  with  Him  to 
allow  the  possibility  even  for  a  moment  of  worshipping  any  being 
but  God.  Only  this  is  the  way  in  which  He  describes  a  conflict 
which  He  had  to  face.  With  His  great  powers  He  could  rally 
men  around  Him.  He  could  gain  to  His  cause,  not  only  the 
Herods  and  the  Pilates,  but  Tiberius  himself.  He  could  establish 
an  Empire  at  Rome,  as  Hildebrand  did,  as  Julius  II  attempted  to 
do.  He  could  employ  the  earthly  powers  in  His  cause,  as 
Ignatius  Loyola  and  the  Jesuits  did.  It  is  only  when  you  see  how 
the  Church  and  the  Jesuits  yielded  to  this  most  subtle  of  all  tempta- 
tions, that  you  understand  the  greatness  of  Christ's  victory  in 
absolutely  and  for  ever  declining  these  worldl}'  ways  of  establish- 
ing the  heavenly  kingdom. 

11.    Then  the  devil  leaveth  him.     The  prince  of  this  world  had 
come  and  had  found  nothing  in  Him.    Wellhausen,  noting  how  the 


3o  St.  MATTHEW  IV.  12 

devil  leaveth  him;   and  behold,  angels  came 
and  ministered  unto  him. 

Now  when  he  heard  that  John  was  delivered  ia 

temptation  was  renewed  by  Peter  in  Mark  viii.  32,  33,  and  was 
met  by  the  same  indignant  cry,  vjraye  "Sarava,  leaps  to  the  con- 
clusion that  Peter  was  the  Satan  of  Matt.  iv.  10.  This  is  so  far 
true,  as,  that  the  Principate  of  Peter  at  Rome  has  been  the 
Church's  greatest  snare,  and  the  successors  of  Peter  have  yielded 
to  the  temptation  which  Christ  resisted.  Dr.  Bruce  (Expositors 
New  Testament)  thought  that  the  devil  left  Him  as  a  visionary  who 
was  too  simple  to  interfere  much  with  his  designs,  and  that  Christ 
gained  the  universal  empire  by  spiritual  methods  which  Satan 
could  not  understand  and  therefore  did  not  fear.  But  the  reason 
why  the  prince  of  this  world  left  Him  is  given  in  John  xiv.  30. 
1  Angels  came  and  ministered  unto  Him,'  as  they  did  in  Geth- 
semane  (Luke  xxii.  43),  and  would  have  done  more  visibly  if  He 
had  wished  (Matt.  xxvi.  53).  Whenever  we  are  come  to  Jesus  we 
are  come  also  '  to  innumerable  hosts  of  angels '  (Heb.  xii.  22,  23% 

Think  not  that  a  belief  in  angels  is  a  disparagement  of  Jesus. 
He  spoke  most  of  them  because  He  knew  most.  He  was  accom- 
panied by  them  through  His  life  —  heralded  by  their  song, 
comforted  by  their  sympathy.  They  gazed  on  His  cross,  trying  to 
gauge  its  mystery  of  redemption  ;  they  watched  His  resurrection 
and  filled  His  tomb  with  light.  One  of  the  blessed  results  of  His 
coming  was  to  open  our  eyes  to  the  presence  of  this  heavenly 
company,  and  to  assure  us  that  they  are  sent  forth  to  minister 
unto  them  who  are  heirs  of  salvation.  As  He  was  '  seen  of  angels  ' 
(1  Tim.  iii.  16),  so  are  we  by  faith  to  see  them,  not  only  the  angels  of 
little  children  beholding  the  Father's  face,  or  the  angels  who  will 
gather  the  wheat  in  the  harvest  of  the  world,  but  also  the  angels 
who,  present  in  the  Church  assembly,  exact  a  decorum  becoming 
to  a  heavenly  society  (1  Cor.  xi.  10). 

Bengel  thinks  that  the  '  ministering '  here  was  to  bring  Him 
food,  and  quotes  1  Kings  xix.  5.  That  is  part  of  the  angelic 
function.     But  chiefly  they  bring  us  angels'  food  to  eat. 

iv.  12-18.     The  Galilean  Ministry,  beginning  here, 
ends  at  xix.  1. 

12.  Did  He  go  into  Galilee  because  Herod,  who  imprisoned  John, 
might  also  arrest  Him?  Or  does  it  not  rather  mean  that  He  went 
into  the  land  of  danger  ?  Galilee  was  the  mixing  of  the  nations  ; 
it  lay  on  the  trade  route  from  Mesopotamia  to  the  Mediterranean. 
Large  cities  of  the  Roman  type,  tinctured  with  Greek  culture, 
and  using  the  Greek  language,  clustered  round  the  Sea  of  Galilee, 
cities  with  imperial  names,  like  Caesarea  which  was  built  by 
Philip  the  Tetrarch  (b.  c.  4 — a.  d.  34)  and  Tiberias,  named  after 
the  Emperor. 


St.  MATTHEW  IV.  13-17  31 

13  up,  he  withdrew  into  Galilee;  and  leaving  Naza- 
reth, he  came  and  dwelt  in  Capernaum,  which 
is  by  the  sea,  in  the  borders  of  Zebulun  and 

14  Naphtali :  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was 
spoken  J  by  Isaiah  the  prophet,  saying,  J  0r> 

15  The  land  of  Zebulun  and  the  land  of  Naph- 

tali, 
2 Toward  the  sea,  beyond  Jordan,  2 Gr-  J7'* 

'        J  J  '  way  of  the 

Galilee  of  the  3  Gentiles,  sea- 

16  The  people  which  sat  in  darkness  nations-. 
Saw  a  great  light,                                                 SUwhere. 
And  to  them  which  sat  in  the  region  and 

shadow  of  death, 
To  them  did  light  spring  up. 

17  From  that  time  began  Jesus  to  preach,  and 
to  say,  Repent  ye ;  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
is  at  hand. 

13.  having  Nazareth,  the  remote  and  tranquil  hill  town,  He 
came  down  to  the  busy  town  on  the  Lake.  The  site  of  Capernaum 
is  disputed.  Exalted  to  heaven,  it  was  thrust  down  to  hell.  At  Tel 
Hum,  however,  the  recent  excavations  have  revealed  the  ruins  of 
a  fine  building,  which  may  have  been  the  synagogue  of  Capernaum. 
He  came  to  be  among  men.  He  would  be  either  in  a  solitude 
with  God,  or  in  a  crowd,  ministering  to  the  throng ;  the  first  to 
make  the  second  possible. 

14-16.  The  citation  from  Isa.  ix.  i,  2  would  spring  natur- 
ally to  the  evangelist's  mind,  nor  would  he  wait  to  ask  if  the 
prophet  had  this  event  in  view :  enough  that  there  was  Jesus  in 
that  region,  the  Light  rising  on  those  that  sat  in  darkness  and  the 
shadow  of  death.  Alwaj's  when  men  think  of  Him  they  are 
reminded  of  light.  Galilee  of  the  Nations  (Gentiles)  was  first 
enlightened.  Ultimately  all  the  nations  will  see  that  great  light : 
the  whole  circle  (that  is  the  meaning  of  Galilee)  of  the  nations 
will  rejoice  in  it. 

17.  The  words  echo  what  is  said  of  John  in  iii.  1.  The  words 
which  Jesus  used  in  this  '  beginning >  of  His  preaching  were  the 
identical  words  of  John  ;  but  at  once  the  deeper  meaning  was  in 
them  ;  even  the  monkish  commentator,  Euthymius  Zigabenus  notes 
that  '  repent '  on  John's  lips  means  amendment — turning  from 
what  had  been  wrong  in  life ;  but  when  Jesus  uses  it,  He  means 


32  St.  MATTHEW  IV.  18-22 

And  walking  by  the  sea  of  Galilee,  he  saw  18 
two  brethren,  Simon  who  is  called  Peter,  and 
Andrew  his  brother,  casting  a  net  into  the  sea ; 
for  they  were  fishers.     And  he  saith  unto  them,  19 
Come  ye  after  me,  and  I  will  make  you  fishers 
of  men.     And  they  straightway  left  the  nets,  20 
and  followed  him.     And  going  on  from  thence  21 
XP\         he  saw  other  two  brethren,  l  Tames  the  son  of 

Jacob :  J 

and  so        Zebedee,  and   John   his   brother,  in  the  boat 

elsewhere.  "'     . 

with  Zebedee  their  father,  mending  their  nets  ; 
and  he  called  them.     And  they  straightway  left  22 
the  boat  and  their  father,  and  followed  him. 

'turn  from  the  old  life  to  the  new'.  He  has  glad  tidings  of 
pardon  and  restoration  and  service  ;  and  thus  repentance  does  not 
linger  in  the  past,  but  leaps  at  once  into  the  possession  of  the 
future,  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  the  inward  sovereignty  of  God. 
In  every  respect  the  ministry  of  Jesus,  growing  out  of  the  ministry 
of  John,  is  a  singular  contrast  to  it. 

18.  The  first  recorded  words  of  Jesus  in  His  ministry,  leaving 
aside  the  echo  from  John  the  Baptist,  are,  *  Come  ye  after  me  and 
I  will  make  you  fishers  of  men.'  His  first  thought  is  to  draw 
disciples  to  His  person,  and  to  endow  them  with  gifts  to  carry 
on  His  work,  the  saving  of  men. 

The  tropical  sea,  600  feet  below  the  Mediterranean,  abounds 
with  fish.  These  fishermen  He  requires  for  a  nobler  and  richer 
fishery.  (See  ch.  xiii.  47.)  The  four  simple  men  became  illustrious 
in  His  light ;  fishing  for  men  by  Him,  they  have  become  famous 
among  men.  Jesus  demands  all  from  men,  but  He  gives  incom- 
parably more  than  He  takes.  The  swift  obedience  of  these  young 
fishermen,  leaving  at  once  nets  and  boat  for  the  implements  of 
their  new  calling,  and  their  blood  relatives  for  the  new  Master,  is 
a  vivid  proof  of  the  personal  magnetism  with  which  Jesus  drew 
men  to  Himself. 

19.  Come  ye  after  me.  A  Greek  word  is  used  which  occurs 
again  in  xxv.  34,  '  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father.'  At  first 
He  would  have  us  follow  in  the  fishery,  or  in  the  sorrowful 
way,  but  only  that  at  last  we  may  follow  Him  to  His  glory,  to 
His  Father,  to  His  throne.  It  would  not  do  to  show  the  issue  at 
the  beginning.  We  must  follow  Him  for  His  own  sake,  in  His 
humiliation  and  in  His  suffering,  if  we  would  reach  the  goal  in  His 
footsteps  ;  follow  Him  in  His  work,  and  His  saving  of  the  world, 
if  we  would  see,  with  Him,  of  the  travail  of  the  soul,  and  be  satisfied. 


St.  MATTHEW  IV.  23,  24  3$ 

23  And  *  Jesus  went  about  in  all  Galilee,  teach-  1  Some 

.  ,  i-i         ancient 

ing   in   their    synagogues,    and    preaching    the  authori- 
J  gospel  of  the  kingdom,  and  healing  all  manner  he. 
of  disease  and  all  manner  of  sickness  among  Ming™. 

24  the  people.     And  the  report  of  him  went  forth  ekSlwhere. 
into   all    Syria :    and   they   brought  unto   him 

23.  their  synagogues  ;  the  models  of  the  churches  of  Jesus.  He 
entered  them,  and  by  His  gospel  made  them  churches. 

teaching,  preaching,  healing.  This  is  the  formula  of  the 
Galilean  minister,  repeated  ix.  35.  Matthew  dwells  much  on  the 
teaching,  Luke  more  on  the  preaching ;  but  the  three  synoptists 
all  emphasize  the  healing.  The  healing  stands  first.  This  it 
was  that  most  distinguished  Him  from  John.  By  this  He 
showed  His  pity  and  love  to  suffering  mankind,  and  marked  the 
transition  from  the  prophet  to  the  Saviour.  Wonderful  is  the 
teaching,  eternal  in  its  validity,  a  fuller  ultimate  proof  of  His 
mission  than  the  healing  of  the  sick  :  but  the  compassion  which 
healed  is  the  element  in  Jesus — in  God — which  draws  us  to  Him, 
to  God  in  Him. 

Unless  the  fishers  of  men  heal  and  pity,  as  well  as  teach  and 
preach,  they  do  not  really  '  come  after  Him  \ 

The  prominence  given  to  healing  in  all  the  evangelists  repre- 
sents our  Lord's  own  view  of  it.  John  the  Baptist  came  preaching 
and  teaching,  but  not  healing.  No  prophet  made  it  an  integral 
part  of  his  ministry  ;  though  there  are  lovely  stories  of  Elijah  and 
Elisha  and  of  Isaiah,  which  are  the  protevangel  of  healing.  But 
Jesus  came  healing.  This  is  the  true  Christian  Science  :  Jesus  is 
^  the  Healer. 

disease,  chronic,  sickness,  the  weakness  and  ill-health  which 
may  pass  into  disease.  Jesus  has  an  equal  compassion  for  our 
great  troubles  and  little  ailments,  and  is  willing  to  heal  both. 

24.  info  all  Syria.,  That  sounds  hyperbolical.  Syria,  from 
Antioch  on  the  Orontestothe  border  of  Arabia,  is  a  great  country. 
But  Capernaum  was  a  centre  of  traffic  in  all  directions  ;  and  the 
statement  at  the  most  only  anticipates  a  little.  The  fame  of  Him 
has  gone  out,  first  into  all  the  Roman  Empire,  reaching  the  northern 
peoples,  even  Britain,  the  Ultima  Thule;  then  it  went  out  with 
Columbus  to  America  and  with  Xavier  to  India  ;  in  the  great 
missionary  century,  the  nineteenth,  it  went  through  Africa,  and 
captured  Australia  ;  it  penetrated  Madagascar  and  the  islands  of 
the  sea  ;  it  entered  New  Guinea  ;  it  knocked  at  the  doors  of 
ancient  civilizations  like  China  and  Japan. 

Beginning  from  Galilee  of  the  Gentiles,  'the  mixing  of  the 
nations,'  by  the  way  of  the  sea,  it  went,  or  it  must  go,  to  the 
uttermost  ends  of  the  earth. 

D 


34  St.  MATTHEW  IV.  25 

all  that  were  sick,  holden  with  divers  diseases 
i  Or,  de.  and  torments,  x  possessed  with  devils,  and  epi- 
momacs  \^(x^  an(j  palsied  ;  and  he  healed  them.  And  25 
there  followed  him  great  multitudes  from  Gali- 
lee and  Decapolis  and  Jerusalem  and  Judaea 
and  from  beyond  Jordan. 

torments.  The  Greek  word  ftavavos,  used  only  here  and  in 
Luke  xvi.  23,  of  the  torments  of  hell,  in  the  New  Testament, 
means  the  touchstone  by  which  gold  was  tried.  This  original 
meaning  of  the  word  should  be  kept  in  view :  cf.  Pindar,  Treipwvri 
Se  /ecu  6  xpvobs  kv  fiaaavqi  vpiiru  /cat  voos  6p66s — or,  as  our  old 
song  says, 

As  gold  is  tried  in  the  fire, 
So  the  heart  must  be  tried  by  pain. 
The  torments  are  the  terrible  diseases  of  the  mind,  (1)  Possession. 
The  story  of  Pastor  Hsi  shows  how  real  this  is  in  China  :  the 
experiences  there  narrated  enable  us  to  understand  the  pheno- 
mena recorded  under  this  head  in  the  Gospels.  (2)  Epilepsy,  with 
the  sad  mental  derangement  accompanying  it.     (3)  Paralysis. 

But  these  torments,  like  the  milder  diseases  and  sicknesses, 
are  all  touchstones  of  character,  the  means  of  eliciting  and  making 
the  soul.  Jesus  does  not  come  to  announce  that  these  sufferings 
of  humanity  are  to  be  abolished.  They  serve  their  purpose,  as 
the  furnace  serves  the  purpose  of  refining  gold  and  silver.  But 
He  does  come  to  heal  them ;  in  His  healing  of  them,  their 
highest  purpose  is  realized.  For  when  He  heals,  He  saves,  and 
the  healed  body  becomes  the  temple  of  a  redeemed  soul. 

This  element  of  His  ministry,  the  healing,  must  not  be  omitted 
in  our  teaching,  and  in  Christian  work.  The  extraordinary  re- 
crudescence of  faith  in  the  miraculous  Virgin  at  Lourdes  may  be  due 
to  the  omission  of  this  element  from  the  faith  and  practice  of  the 
Church  :  when  Jesus  the  Healer  is  forgotten,  apparitions  of  virgins 
and  saints  will  be  invented  to  take  His  place  and  to  do  His  work. 
In  Protestant  countries  also  Christian  Science  is  the  reaction  from 
the  omission  of  Christ's  healing  ministry.  This  wave  of  thought 
and  teaching,  which  has  flowed  over  America,  and  entered 
England,  aims  at  showing  that  evil  is  non-existent,  and  thought 
can  think  it  away.  Many  remarkable  cures  are  effected  ;  and,  so 
far  as  the  mind  can  control  the  body  and  its  functions,  Christian 
Science  has  done  well  in  reviving  a  forgotten  truth.  But  the 
Gospel  connects  all  healing  with  the  person  of  Jesus.  The  good 
news  of  the  kingdom  (ver.  23)  is  the  announcement  of  God's 
absolute  sovereignty  over  nature,  and  the  laws  of  nature  ;  and 
where  Jesus  is,  the  power  of  God  is  present  to  heal. 

25.  The  district  from  which  the  people  gathered  around  Jesus 


St.  MATTHEW  V.  1  35 

5      And  seeing  the  multitudes,  he  went  up  into 
the  mountain  :  and  when  he  had  sat  down,  his 

is  less  than  the  whole  of  Syria,  into  which  his  frame  penetrated 
with  the  trade-caravans.  Galilee  represents  the  west  and  the 
north,  Decapolis  is  the  district  of  the  ten  cities  on  the  east  of 
the  lake,  Jerusalem  and  Judaea  are  the  south,  and  '  beyond  Jordan  ' 
is  Perasa,  the  south-east.  The  description  therefore  implies, 
what  history  has  confirmed,  that  to  this  unique  ministry  of 
teaching,  preaching,  and  healing  gather  men  of  all  countries  and 
kindreds  and  tongues. 

Far  and  wide,  though  all  unknowing, 
Pants  for  Him  each  human  breast; 

Human  tears  for  Him  are  flowing, 
Human  hearts  in  Him  would  rest. 

Ch.  v-vii.     The  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 

St.  Luke  vi.  20-49,  gives  an  epitome  of  this  discourse,  after 
the  appointment  of  the  Twelve.  He  stood  on  a  level  place,  and 
the  multitude  gathered  about  Him.  St.  Matthew  implies  rather 
that  He  withdrew  from  the  multitudes  to  the  mountain,  and 
gathered  only  His  disciples  to  Him.  At  that  time,  if  Matthew  is 
giving  a  chronological  narrative,  only  four  disciples  were  called 
— Matthew  was  only  called  later,  in  ix.  9,  and  the  Twelve  are  not 
named  till  x.  2-4 — and  the  audience  that  listened  to  the  Sermon 
would  be  very  restricted.  But  probably  St.  Luke  preserves  more 
accurately  the  order  of  events  and  the  circumstances  of  the  dis- 
course, while  St.  Matthew  in  his  Login  had  a  fuller  record  of  the 
Sermon  itself. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  the  evangelist  sums  up  the  teaching 
of  Jesus  at  the  opening  of  His  ministry,  and  puts  it  in  this  way  at 
the  commencement  of  his  narrative,  not  implying  that  all  this  was 
said  on  the  memorable  occasion  of  the  mountain-sermon,  but 
rather  indicating  that  the  preaching  which  began  on  the  mount 
contained  these  topics,  and  followed  this  order.  But,  whatever 
view  may  be  taken  of  the  circumstances,  or  of  the  composition,  of 
the  Sermon,  nothing  must  hinder  us  from  studying  these  three 
chapters  on  our  knees,  as  containing  the  sum  of  all  wisdom  con- 
cerning life  and  redemption.  The  solemn  close  (vii.  22-27  :  c^- 
Luke  vi.  46-49)  reminds  us  that,  when  scholarship  has  done  its 
best  to  settle  the  details,  the  great  passage,  as  it  stands,  challenges 
our  obedience  ;  we  cannot  shirk  it  by  critical  discussions  ;  it  is  too 
plain  and  searching  to  admit  of  excuses.  We  can  only  say  : 
Saviour  and  Master,  these  sayings  of  Thine, 
Help  me  to  make  them  doings  of  mine. 

Ch.  v.  1-12.  The  Beatitudes.  The  ministry  of  Jesus  begins 
with  the  word,  Blessed.     Once,  1  Tim.  i.  11.  the  word  is  applied 

D  2 


36  St.  MATTHEW  V.  2 

disciples  came  unto  him  :  and  he  opened  his  2 
mouth,  and  taught  them,  saying, 

to  God.  To  be  godlike  is  to  be  blessed  ;  and  these  eight  details 
show  the  wa3r  in  which  men  may  be  godlike.  They  sound  para- 
doxical ;  for  in  each  case  it  is  the  opposite  of  what  men  count 
happiness  which  is  selected  for  commendation.  The  carnal  mind 
is  enmity  against  God  ;  the  happiness,  which  consists  in  godlike- 
ness,  is  a  direct  reversal  of  the  tendencies  which  are  held  to  be 
natural.  Thus  the  Beatitudes  are  a  call  to  conversion  ;  we  can 
only  be  blessed  like  God  by  becoming  the  opposite  of  what  we 
naturally  are.  Man  says  :  '  Happy  are  the  rich,  the  glad,  the 
powerful,  the  satisfied,  the  great  who  trample  on  the  small,  those 
who  indulge  the  appetites,  the  warriors,  those  who  can  force  others 
to  their  way  of  thinking.'  This  ideal  was  common  before  Christ 
came  ;  it  is  common  even  now.  These  are  the  things  which  men 
naturally  desire  and  admire.  It  is  in  direct  antagonism  to  what 
men  think  and  feel  that  Jesus  declares  who  are  really  happy, 
giving  the  reasons  ;  in  doing  this  He  implies  that  men  who  are 
born  of  the  flesh  must  be  born  again,  born  of  the  Spirit,  by  faith  in 
Him.  These  Christian  virtues  form  a  complete  chain,  and  follow 
in  a  natural  order,  each  growing  out  of  the  one  preceding. 

1.  the  mountain.  We  know  not  which,  but  tradition  identifies 
it  with  Khurun-Hattin,  at  the  base  of  which  Saladin  defeated  the 
Crusaders.  The  definite  article  might  mean  only  the  hills  as  dis- 
tinct from  the  lake-level ;  it  might  also  mean  the  eminent  and 
dominating  mountain  of  the  neighbourhood,  Mount  Tabor.  Jesus 
had  an  affinity  to  the  mountaintops.  He  went  there  to  pray,  to 
gather  disciples,  as  here  (see  Mark  iii.  13),  and  to  teach  (cf. 
ch.  xiv.  23,  xv.  29),  and  to  be  transfigured.  His  sayings  are  of 
the  heights  and  of  the  open  air.  He  has  no  esoteric  teaching,  like 
Buddha.  His  truth  is  in  the  open,  and  all  may  receive  it  who  can. 
He  has  none  but  open  secrets.  He  that  hath  ears  may  hear.  But 
the  great  thing  is  to  have  ears. 

sat  down.     The  teacher's  attitude  :  cf.  Mark  iv.  1. 

2.  opened  his  mouth.  A  Hebraism  :  cf.  Ps.  lxxviii.  2  ;  quoted 
in  xiii.  35  as  peculiarly  appropriate  to  Jesus;  He  spoke  in  parables 
and  uttered  the  dark  sayings  of  old  ;  and  so  He  '  opened  the 
mouth '  to  teach.  Though  it  may  be  originally  a  naif  and  child- 
like description  of  the  act  of  speaking,  it  suggests,  to  Greek  and 
to  Western  ears,  that  there  is  a  great  body  of  truth  pressing  for 
utterance,  as  if  it  were  necessary  only  to  open  the  mouth,  and 
the  truth  will  issue  forth.  It  suits  the  idea  of  inspiration.  The 
phrase  is  also  appropriate  to  those  who  spoke  of  Him,  e.g. 
Philip  instructing  the  eunuch,  Acts  viii.  35  ;  Peter  addressing 
Cornelius,  Acts  x.  34  ;  Paul  before  Gallio,  Acts  xviii.  14.  It 
implies  eager,  heartfelt  speech,  2  Cor.  vi.  11.  It  may,  however, 
refer  to  language  of  passion  in  a  bad  sense,  Rev.  xiii.  6. 


St.  MATTHEW  V.  3,  4  37 

3  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit :  for  theirs  is  '  Some 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.  So" 

4  l  Blessed  are  they  that  mourn  :  for  they  shall  transpose 
be  comforted.  JS*. 


3.  poor  in  spirit.  Probably  St.  Luke  is  accurate  in  his  version 
'blessed  are  ye  poor  '  ;  but  the  addition  '  in  spirit '  is  the  interpre- 
tation which  Jesus  Himself  gave  of  His  saying.  The  kingdom  He 
preached  is  essentially  a  state  of  mind,  and  He  attaches  value  only 
to  that  which  we  choose  and  determine.  It  is  not,  therefore,  so 
much  poverty  which  is  blessed,  but  the  mind  which  is  indifferent 
to  all  earthly  possessions,  desiring  only  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
Thus  the  saying  of  Christ  recorded  by  Clement  interprets  the 
beatitude.  '  When  shall  Thy  kingdom  come  ? '  He  was  asked. 
'  When  the  two  shall  be  one,"  was  the  reply,  '  and  when  that 
which  is  without  shall  be  as  that  which  is  within.'  First  comes 
the  inner  spirit,  which  must  be  right  with  God,  then  outward 
things  must  be  harmonized  with  the  inward  spirit — and  the 
sovereignty  of  God  will  be  complete.  The  poor  are  they  who  lay 
not  up  for  themselves  treasure  on  earth,  because  their  treasure  is 
in  heaven,  they  who  seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God,  leaving  all  else 
to  follow.  The  corresponding  woe  in  St.  Luke  vi.  24  reminds  us 
that  earthly  possessions  may  harden  and  fill  the  heart  and  make 
the  poverty  of  which  Jesus  speaks,  the  right  inward  attitude 
towards  God  and  towards  material  things,  very  difficult,  and  in 
some  cases  impossible.  '  It  is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through 
the  eye  of  a  needle  than  for  the  rich  man  to  enter  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.' 

One  morning  on  the  minister's  desk  was  laid  a  folded  paper 
containing  these  words  :  '  The  prayers  of  this  congregation  are 
requested  for  a  man  who  is  growing  rich.'  That  showed  a  right 
understanding  of  the  first  beatitude.  '  Theirs  is  the  kingdom  ' — 
the  theocracy  is  the -true  property:  cf.  xix.  14  (Mark  x.  14; 
Luke  xviii.  16). 

4.  they  that  mourn.  Sorrow  often  narrows  us  down  to  God. 
And  as  there  is  a  heart  of  blessing  in  all  sorrow,  the  mourners 
may  be  accounted  blessed,  though  often  by  unbelief  they  mar  the 
effects  which  God  intends.  Jesus  in  accepting  Isa.  lxi.  1-3  as  the 
description  of  His  own  mission  (Luke  iv.  18)  recognized  His 
own  function  of  comforting.  Take  away  the  person  and  the  work 
of  Jesus,  and  the  beatitudes  cease  to  be  true.  It  is  He  who  turns 
sorrow  into  joy  (John  xvi.  20).  For  this  see  that  epistle  of  trans- 
formed sorrow,  2  Cor.  i.  7,  vii.  10.  It  is  in  His  heavenly  kingdom 
that  tears  are  wiped  away,  Rev.  xxi.  4.  While  mourning  is  thus 
to  be  taken  in  a  general  sense,  we  cannot  help  thinking  specially 
of  the  mourning  of  repentance,  Jas.  iv.  9-10. 


38  St.  MATTHEW  V.  5-7 

Blessed  are  the  meek :  for  they  shall  inherit  5 
the  earth. 

Blessed  are  they  that  hunger  and  thirst  after  6 
righteousness :  for  they  shall  be  filled. 

Blessed  are  the  merciful :  for  they  shall  obtain  7 
mercy. 


5.  the  meek.  This  beatitude  is  almost  a  quotation  of  Ps.  xxxvii.  1 1. 
'  The  meek  shall  inherit  the  land.'  Dalman  shows  that  even 
in  the  Jewish  writings  possessing  the  earth  has  a  spiritual 
meaning,  as  having  part  in  the  future  age  {Words  of  Jesus,  126). 
In  the  Buddhist  Canon  we  read  :  '  He  who,  when  assailed, 
does  not  resist,  but  speaks  mildly  to  his  tormenter — him  do  I  call 
a  Brahmana.'  Buddha  learned  from  that  spiritual  Christ,  who 
lighteth  ever}'  man  coming  into  the  world.  The  originality  of 
Christ's  teaching  is  not  to  be  sought  in  individual  precepts,  but 
in  drawing  out  the  precepts  which  are  found  scattered  in  the 
dust-heaps  of  other  systems,  and  piecing  them  together  into  a 
new,  simple,  and  perfect  code. 

Christ  Himself  is  the  example  of  meekness  :  cf.  xi.  29,  xxi.  5. 
They  who  learn  of  Him  become  meek  too.  This  spirit  is  'in 
the  sight  of  God  of  great  price '  (1  Pet.  iii.  4). 

they  shall  inherit  the  earth.  Jean  Paul  Richter  said  that  '  the 
English  inherit  the  sea,  the  French  the  land,  the  Germans  the 
air'.  But  what  a  precarious  tenure  !  No  one  by  might  or  genius 
inherits  sea  or  land  or  air,  except  that  slip  of  land  or  that  shroud 
of  the  'vast  and  wandering  deep'  in  which  he  is  buried.  The 
meek,  because  they  are  precious  in  God's  sight,  will  inherit  the 
new  heaven  and  earth. 

6.  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness.  The  noun  is  in  the 
accusative,  which  implies  that  the  desire  is  to  possess  righteousness 
as  a  whole,  a  complete  sanctification.  The  longing  for  a  little 
righteousness,  mixed  with  sin,  is  not  gratified  ;  but  the  passion 
for  a  perfect  righteousness  is  (cf.  Ps.  xlii.  2 ;  Isa.  lv.  1,  2  ; 
John  vii.  37).  Others  speak  of  'following  after'  righteousness 
(2  Tim.  ii.  22),  but  Christ  prefers  the'figure  of  hunger  and  thirst 
(John  vi.  33"),  for  eating  and  drinking  suggest  a  more  intimate 
assimilation. 

7.  the  merciful.  Christ  is  the  merciful  and  faithful  high-priest 
(Heb.  ii.  17).  Mercy  is  God's  property  (Luke  vi.  36  ;  Rom.  xi. 
30,  31),  and  is  conferred  of  His  grace  (1  Tim.  i.  13,  i6\  '  It 
droppeth  as  the  gentle  dew  from  heaven.'  But  Christ  was 
particular  to  show  that  the  unmerciful  servant  shall  not  obtain 
mercy  ;  and  here  the  converse  is  declared  :  the  merciful  man 
shall  (2  Tim.  i.  16,  18 ;  Heb.  vi.  10).    God's  mercy  is  not  bought, 


St.  MATTHEW  V.  8-11  39 

8  Blessed  are  the  pure  ,in  heart :  for  they  shall 
see  God. 

9  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers  :  for  they  shall 
be  called  sons  of  God. 

to  Blessed  are  they  that  have  been  persecuted 
for  righteousness'  sake  :  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom 

ii  of  heaven.  Blessed  are  ye  when  men  shall  re- 
proach you,  and  persecute  you,  and  say  all 
manner  of  evil  against  you  falsely,  for  my  sake. 

but  it  is  conditioned.     '  Mercy  is  practised  not  by  money  alone, 
but  by  words  and  tears',  says  Euthymius  Zigabenus. 

8.  the  pure  in  heart  :  cf.  Ps.  xi.  7,  xxiv.  4,  Ixxiii.  1.  Purity 
is  the  end  of  the  commandment  (1  Tim.  i.  5  ;  2  Tim.  ii.  22). 
Out  of  purity  comes  love  (1  Pet.  i.  22\  and  Love  is  God.  The 
pure  see  God  (Heb.  xii.  14).  'For  as  the  mirror,'  says  Theophy- 
lact,  '  if  it  be  pure,  then  receives  reflections,  so  the  pure  soul 
receives  the  vision  of  God.'  Augustine  explains  purity  as 
simplicity,  '  cor  mundum  est  cor  simplex  '  ;  the  double-minded 
man  is  blind.  But  the  pure  is  in  the  widest  sense  the  purged 
(John  xv.  2).  We  cannot  think  of  a  natural  purity,  but  of  the 
cleansing  (1  John  i.  7).     Who  apart  from  Christ  is  pure  ? 

9.  the  peacemakers.  See  ver.  23,  24.  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  is 
the  great  peacemaker  (Eph.  ii.  14).  And  as  we  share  His  work 
of  peacemaking,  we  share  His  title,  and  are  called  sons  of  God. 
The  peacemakers  sow  the  seed  which  produces  fruits  of  righteous- 
ness, Jas.  iii.  18  :  just  as  war-makers  sow  the  Cadmus-teeth  from 
which  all  forms  of  evil  spring.  They  who  as  peacemakers  are 
the  sons  of  God  are  not  loved,  or  even  known,  by  the  world 
(1  John  iii.  1)  ;  but  they  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  are 
for  that  reason  His  sons  (Rom.  viii.  14).  '  Pursue  peace '  is  a 
counsel  of  blessedness"  (Heb.  xii.  14).  For  the  sonship  regarded 
as  reward,  see  Luke  xx.  36  ;  Rev.  xxi.  7. 

10.  they  that  have  been  persecuted,  and  carry  the  scars  on  them, 
the  marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  The  persecution  while  it  lasts  is 
not  joyful,  but  grievous  ;  only  afterwards  it  yields  priceless  fruit. 
The  blessing  of  the  persecuted  is  that  of  the  poor  (ver.  3). 

11.  for  my  sake  (John  xv.  21).  So  Henry  Mart3rn  in  Persia 
enters  in  his  Journal,  speaking  of  Christ's  Divinit}7  :  '  It  is  this 
doctrine  that  exposes  me  to  the  contempt  of  the  learned 
Mahometans,  in  whom  it  is  difficult  to  say  whether  pride  or 
ignorance  predominates.  Their  sneers  are  more  difficult  to  bear 
than  the  brickbats  which  the  boys  sometimes  throw  at  me  ;  how- 
ever, both  are  an  honour  of  which  I  am  not  worthy.  How  many 
times  in  the  day  have  I  occasion  to  repeat  the  words  : 


4o  St.  MATTHEW  V.  12,  13 

Rejoice,  and  be  exceeding  glad :  for  great  is  12 
your  reward  in  heaven  :  for  so  persecuted  they 
the  prophets  which  were  before  you. 

Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth  :  but  if  the  salt  13 
have    lost   its    savour,    wherewith    shall   it   be 
salted?  it  is  thenceforth  good  for  nothing,  but 
to  be  cast  out  and  trodden  under  foot  of  men. 

If  on  my  face,  for  Thy  dear  name, 

Shame  and  reproach  should  be, 
All  hail  reproach,  and  welcome  shame, 

If  Thou  remember. me. 

The  more  they  wish  me  to  give  up  one  point,  the  Divinity  of 
Christ,  the  more  I  seem  to  feel  the  necessity  of  it  and  rejoice  to 
glory  in  it.  Indeed,  I  trust  I  would  sooner  give  up  my  life  than 
surrender  it.' 

12.  Rejoice,  and  be  exceeding  glad.  Read  the  letters  of  Ignatius, 
as  he  was  carried  to  Rome,  to  be  thrown  to  the  wild  beasts  in 
the  Amphitheatre  for  the  name  of  Jesus.  They  are  exultant  : 
'  Now  I  am  beginning  to  be  a  disciple  .  .  .  now  am  I  made  the 
fine-flour,  ground  by  the  teeth  of  the  wild  beasts,  to  be  the  bread 
of  my  God.'  See  the  joy  of  the  Apostles,  Acts  v.  41  ;  Rom.  v.  3  ; 
2  Cor.  xii.  10  ;  Col.  i.  n,  24  ;  Heb.  x.  34  ;  Jas.  i.  2  ;  1  Pet.  iv. 
13.  None  of  the  promises  of  Christ  is  more  marvellously  fulfilled 
than  that  of  jo}'  in  suffering  for  His  sake.  All  suffering,  patiently 
accepted  for  His  sake,  turns  into  joy. 

your  rezvard  is  Jesus  Himself :  cf.  Gen.  xv.  1.  In  S.  Maria 
sopra  Minerva  is  Filippino  Lippi's  fresco  of  Thomas  Aquinas. 
Christ  says  to  him  :  '  Thou  hast  written  good  about  me  ;  what 
reward  dost  thou  desire  ? '  St.  Thomas  answers  :  '  None  other 
than  Thyself,  O  Lord.' 

in  heaven,  i.  e.  with  God  :  cf.  vi.  1. 
v.  13-16.  The  salt  of  the  earth  and  the  light  of  the  world. 
'Nil  sole  et  sale  utilius '  (Pliny,  H.  N.  xxxi.  9).  In  ver.  12  the 
eyes  of  the  disciples  are  turned  to  heaven  ;  here  they  are  brought 
back  to  earth,  where  their  conduct  is  to  constitute  the  salt  which 
gives  savour,  and  the  far-gleaming  city  of  God  which  gives  light 
to  the  world. 

13.  The  salt  (Mark  ix.  50;  Luke  xiv.  34)  may  lose  its  savour. 
The  Greek  word  means  '  become  foolish  ',  which  interprets  the 
allegorical  meaning.  Salt  in  the  storehouse,  it  is  said  in  Palestine, 
undergoes  a  chemical  change,  losing  the  properties,  while  re- 
taining the  appearance,  of  salt.  '  If  your  character  is  infatuated 
by  love  of  praise,  desire  of  mone}',  eagerness  for  pleasures,,  the 
lust  of  revenge,  the  fear  of  dishonour,  losses,  or  death '  sa3'S 
Erasmus,  '  the  salt  loses  its  savour.'     Cf.  Heb.  vi.  6. 


St.  MATTHEW  V.   14-18  41 

14  Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world.     A  city  set  on 

15  a  hill  cannot  be  hid.  Neither  do  men  light  a 
lamp,  and  put  it  under  the  bushel,  but  on  the 
stand  ;  and  it  shineth  unto  all  that  are  in  the 

16  house.  Even  so  let  your  light  shine  before 
men,  that  they  may  see  your  good  works,  and 
glorify  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven. 

17  Think  not  that  I  came  to  destroy  the  law  or 
the  prophets  :    I   came  not  to  destroy,  but  to 

r8  fulfil.     For  verily  I  say  unto  you,  Till  heaven 

14.  Famous  Rabbis  were  called  'lamps  of  the  world'  (Dalman, 
p.  176).  Cf.  Wisd.  xviii.  4,  where  the  Law  is  called  a  'light  for 
the  age'.  The  resplendent  image  of  the  hill-perched  city  is 
exquisitely  combined  with  the  lowly  image  of  the  one-roomed 
cottage,  where  the  lamp  set  on  a  projecting  stone  is  hidden 
by  an  earthenware  shade  when  the  family  sleeps  (Mark  iv.  21  ; 
Luke  viii.  16,  xi.  33). 

16.  The  shining  brings  no  honour  to  the  lamp,  but  to  the 
objects  illuminated.  '  He  does  not  bid  us  make  a  theatrical  show 
of  our  virtue,'  says  Euthj'mius  Zigabenus.  The  object  of  the 
shining  is  to  glorify  God  in  Christ  (Cor.  iv.  6),  as  the 
woman's  good  work  in  anointing  the  feet  of  Jesus  shines  round 
the  world,  ch.  xxvi.  13.  But  incidentally  the  shining  illuminates 
the  prison-house,  and  liberates  the  prisoner,  Acts  xii.  7. 

your  Father.  How  quietly  the  great  phrase  is  introduced  ; 
to  Jesus  it  was  the  most  obvious  of  terms.  He  says  '  j'our ',  not 
'  our '  Father. 

v.  17-20.     Christ's   teaching  does  not  repeal  the  old  law, 

BUT    BRINGS    IT    OUT    INTO    ITS    FULL    EXPRESSION    AND    INTENTION. 

On  the  one  hand  the  Lord  is  supreme  over  Moses,  and  corrects,  b}' 
deepening,  Mosaic  regulations ;  on  the  other  hand  He  preserves  the 
continuity  with  Moses,  justifies  the  divine  character  of  the  older 
revelation,  and  places  low  in  the  Kingdom  of  God  any  Christian 
teacher  who  discredits  any  commandment  of  the  past.  This  is 
Christ's  authority  for  the  careful  study  of  the  Old  Testament,  and 
for  seeking  to  evolve  out  of  the  old  law  the  new  Gospel. 

17.  the  lazv  or  the  prophets:  these  with  the  Psalms  Luke  xxiv. 
44  constitute  the  Old  Testament.  This  saying  is  mentioned  in 
the  Talmud  as  springing  from  the  Gospel  i  Dobschiitz,  Christian 
Life  in  the  Primitive  Church,  p.  155). 

18.  verily,  i.  e.  Amen.  Christ's  peculiar  word  of  emphasis. 
He  is  Yea.  Amen. 


42  St.  MATTHEW  V.   19,  20 

and  earth  pass  away,  one  jot  or  one  tittle  shall 
in  no  wise  pass  away  from  the  law,  till  all 
things  be  accomplished.  Whosoever  therefore  19 
shall  break  one  of  these  least  commandments, 
and  shall  teach  men  so,  shall  be  called  least 
in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  :  but  whosoever  shall 
do  and  teach  them,  he  shall  be  called  great  in 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.  For  I  say  unto  you,  that  20 
except  your  righteousness  shall  exceed  the  right- 
eousness of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall 
in  no  wise  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

jot  or  tittle  (cf.  Luke  xvi.  17),  i.e.  the  letter  jod\  or  rather, 
perhaps,  it  is  the  Greek  iota,  as  in  the  Lord's  time  the  Hebrew  or 
Aramaic  foci  was  not  written,  as  the  smallest  of  the  letters  ;  or  the 
part  of  a  letter,  e.  g.the  -  in  2. 

till  all  be  fulfilled  (Mark  xiii.  30).  The  early  fathers  saw  in 
the  jod  the  upright,  and  in  the  tittle  the  transverse  beam,  of  the 
Cross.     Thus  they  read  the  New  Testament  into  the  Old. 

19.  The  Christian  teacher  who  gives  due  weight  to  the  Old 
Testament  is  great  in  the  kingdom.  He  who  neglects  it  is  little 
or  even  least.  Joshua  ben  Levi  said  that  men  esteemed  in  this 
age  will  be  despised  in  the  age  to  come.  His  son  Joseph  on  his 
deathbed  had  a  vision  of  the  world  turned  upside  down,  in  which 
the  highest  found  themselves  lowest  and  the  lowest  highest 
(Dalman,  Words  of  Jesus,  p.  T13).  Perhaps  our  Lord  was 
thinking  of  John  the  Baptist  ('  He  that  is  least  in  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  greater  than  he '),  who  neglected  the  temple  and  the 
sacrifices.  Our  Lord's  ideal  was  not  the  reformer  or  the  icono- 
clast, but  the  saintly  soul  that  draws  the  good  out  of  things  evil, 
and  educes  the  new  order  out  of  the  old. 

20.  For.  The  meaning  of  the  conjunction  is  not  very  obvious. 
He  is  adjusting  the  grades  in  the  kingdom  ;  highest,  those  who 
understand  the  Old  and  the  New  ;  lowest,  those  who  impatiently 
sweep  away  the  Old  in  their  zeal  for  the  New.  Such  valuations, 
He  seems  to  say,  I  make  among  the  children  of  the  kingdom,  but 
the  Pharisee  is  not  in  the  kingdom  at  all.  '  For  I  say  unto  \'ou. 
unless  your  righteousness  exceeds  that  of  the  Pharisees,  you  shall 
not  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.' 

righteousness  is  the  Pharisaic  ideal,  and  in  Matthew  it  is  also 
the  Christian  ideal.  But  there  is  a  contrast  between  the  two 
ideals  :  cf.  Rom.  x.  1-10. 

enter  into  the  kingdom.  The  Aramaic  would  rather  be  '  attain 
to  ',  like  the  Rabbinical  '  attain  to  the  age  to  come  '. 


St.  MATTHEW  V.  21-23  43 

1  Many 

3i      Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  to  them  of  ancient 
old  time,  Thou  shalt  not  kill ;  and  whosoever  yities 
shall  kill  shall  be  in  danger  of  the  judgement :  without 

22  but  I  say  unto  you,  that  every  one  who  is  angry  2  An  ex - 
with   his  brother l  shall   be  in   danger    of  the  Kempt? 
judgement ;    and   whosoever   shall   say   to   his  Moreh, 
brother,  2  Raca,  shall  be  in  danger  of  the  coun-  expres™w 
cil ;  and  whosoever  shall  say,  3  Thou  fool,  shall  c0°nnd?m. 

23  be  in  danger  4  of  the  5  hell  of  fire.      If  there-  f^rXnto 
fore  thou  art  offering  thy  gift  at  the  altar,  and  Td"!°' 
there  rememberest  that  thy  brother  hath  aught  ^jf"™ 

Ch.  v.  21-48.     Six  instances  of  the  law  fulfilled  :   murder, 

ADULTERY,  DIVORCE,  SWEARING.  RETALIATION.  AND  LOVE  OF  ENEMIES. 

1  He  claimed  to  be  a  new  Lawgiver,  and  that  in  a  manner  which 
Jewish  feeling  regarded  as  an  invasion  of  the  divine  prerogative  ; 
for,  unlike  Moses,  who  spoke  in  the  name  of  God,  He  announced 
in  His  own  name  what  should  henceforth  be  regarded  as  law.' 
Dalman,  Words  of  Jesus,  p.  315. 

v.  21-26.  Murder.  Here  the  law  to  them  of  old  time  stands 
intact ;  but  its  principle  is  carried  further.  Of  old  it  restrained 
the  end,  not  the  beginning,  of  the  transgression  (Euthym.  Zigab.) ; 
now  the  evil  is  recognized  at  its  source.  The  angry  feeling,  the 
contemptuous  word,  the  implacable  spirit,  in  Christ's  law,  receive 
the  penalties  which  human  law  allots  to  murder. 

21.  Thou  shalt  not  kill  (Exod.  xx.  13  ;  Deut.  v.  17). 

the  judgement,  i.  e.  the  bench  of  seven  established  in  different 
localities  to  deal  with  criminal  cases,  Deut.  xvi.  18  ;  2  Chron. 
xix.  5.  Josephus,  Antiq.  iv.  8,  §  14,  says  :  '  Let  there  be  seven 
men  to  judge  in  each  city  ...  if  these  are  unable  to  give  a  just 
sentence  ...  let  them  send  the  cause  undetermined  to  the  holy 
city,  and  there  let  the  high-priest,  the  prophet,  and  the  Sanhedrin 
determine  as  it  shall  seem  good  to  them.' 

22.  Anger  even  with  cause  deserves  the  judgement  of  the  local 
court !  The  brother  is  our  fellow  man  :  cf.  vii.  3.  Raca,  Theo- 
phylact  says,  was  only  equivalent  to  the  scornful  av  in  Greek  :  as 
if  one  said  to  another  '  You  —  ! '  This  contemptuous  expression 
should  make  one  obnoxious  to  the  high  court  of  the  Sanhedrin. 

fool,  or  ■  rebel ',  as  Moses  said  and  was  punished  'Num.  xx.  10). 
That  contumely  deserves  the  punishment  of  the  valley  of  Hinnom, 
where  criminals  were  burnt.  Thus  Christ  strikes  at  the  root  of 
•  man's  inhumanity  to  man  '. 

23.  The  gift  is  the  offering,  xxiii.  18,  19.     This  refers  to  the 


44  St.  MATTHEW  V.  24-29 

against  thee,  leave   there   thy  gift  before   the  24 
altar,  and  go  thy  way,  first  be  reconciled  to  thy 
brother,  and   then   come    and   offer   thy   gift. 
Agree  with  thine  adversary  quickly,  whiles  thou  25 
art  with  him  in  the  way ;  lest  haply  the  adver- 
sary deliver  thee  to  the  judge,  and  the  judge 
1  Some       1  deliver  thee  to  the  officer,  and  thou  be  cast 
authorities  into  prison.     Verily  I  say  unto  thee,  Thou  shalt  26 
deliver       by  no  means  come  out  thence,  till  thou  have 
paid  the  last  farthing. 

Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said,  Thou  shalt  27 
not  commit  adultery  :  but  I  say  unto  you,  that  2S 
every  one  that  looketh  on  a  woman  to  lust  after 
her  hath  committed  adultery  with  her  already 
in  his  heart.     And  if  thy  right  eye  causeth  thee  29 
to  stumble,  pluck  it  out,  and  cast  it  from  thee  : 
for  it  is  profitable  for  thee  that  one  of  thy  mem- 
bers should  perish,  and  not  thy  whole  body  be 


temple  at  Jerusalem^  and  would  not  be  so  vivid  in  Galilee. 
Perhaps  the  original  form  is  Mark  xi.  25.  Morality  precedes 
worship  ;  mercy  comes  before  sacrifice. 

25.  The  implacability  which  will  not  forgive  incurs,  the  severest 
judgement :  cf.  xviii.  32-5.  Agree  with  thine  adversary  ;  Luke 
xii.  58  gives  the  words  in  another  connexion.  God  is  alike 
Prosecutor  and  Judge  and  executor  of  judgement  (Allen). 

27-30.  Adultery  (Ex.  xx.  14 ;  Deut.  v.  18) .  The  evil  of 
adultery  is  recognized  in  Job  xxxi.  9-12. 

28.  a  woman,  sc.  a  wife. 

looketh,  i.  e.  keeps  looking,  cherishes  the  thought.  The  e3'e 
and  the  heart  are  the  two  brokers  of  sin. 

29.  The  strenuous  measures  to  be  taken  to  master  sensual  sin. 
These  verses  occur  again  in  xviii.  8,  9.  The  reference  to  the 
right  hand  is  not  apposite  here  ;  and  ver.  30  is  omitted  in  D  and 
Sj'ra  S  ;  hand  and  foot  are  not  guilt}*,  like  the  eye,  of  adultery. 

causeth  thee  to  stumble.  Scandalizes  thee  ;  the  scandalum  is  the 
trap-stick  with  bait  on.  Origen  as  a  boy  made  himself  a  eunuch  to 
escape  the  snares  of  passion  ;  he  took  the  Lord's  words  literally. 
But  with  what  vigilance  and  vigour  the  soul  must  watch  and  wrestle 
to  check  the  first  movements  of  illicit  desire  the  strong  figure  shows. 


St.  MATTHEW  V.  30-34  45 

30  cast  into  '  hell.     And  if  thy  right  hand  causeth  lJ^/^nHa 
thee  to   stumble,   cut  it  off,   and  cast  it  from 

thee  :   for  it  is  profitable  for  thee  that  one  of 
thy  members  should  perish,  and  not  thy  whole 

31  body  go  into  J  hell.  It  was  said  also,  Whoso- 
ever shall  put  away  his  wife,  let  him  give  her  a 

32  writing  of  divorcement :  but  I  say  unto  you,  that 
every  one  that  putteth  away  his  wife,  saving  for 
the  cause  of  fornication,  maketh  her  an  adul- 
teress :  and  whosoever  shall  marry  her  when 
she  is  put  away  committeth  adultery. 

33  Again,  ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  to  them 
of  old  time,  Thou  shalt  not  forswear  thyself, 
but  shalt  perform  unto  the  Lord  thine   oaths  : 

34  but  I  say  unto  you,  Swear  not  at  all ;  neither  by 

31-2.  Divorce.  This  is  from  Mark  x.  1-12.  The  law  of  divorce 
is  in  Deut.  xxiv.  1.  But  the  prophets  moved  in  Christ's  direction  : 
see  Mai.  ii.  15,  16. 

32.  saving  for  the  cause  of  fornication,  xix.  9.  That  is  in  effect  a 
putting  away  on  the  wife's  part,  for  which  the  husband  is  not  re- 
sponsible. But  the  saying  as  given  by  Mark  does  not  admit  even 
this  exception. 

Here  Christ  not  only  deepens,  but  corrects  the  Mosaic  law. 
But  He  does  not  feel  that  His  correction  abolishes  one  tittle  of  the 
law.  See  the  connexion  in  Luke  xvi.  17,  18.  Moses  for  the 
hardness  of  their  hearts  allowed  his  people  a  liberty  which 
became  questionable  when  clearer  light  shone,  and  when  a  higher 
stage  of  development  was  reached.  While  the  moral  sanction 
and  law  are  eternal,  the  contents  of  the  law  advance,  the  standard 
rises  with  time. 

33-7.  Swearing.  Here  the  principle  of  the  law  is  again  only 
deepened.  The  swearing  does  not  refer  to  an  oath  before  a  law- 
court,  which  the  Lord  himself  implicitly  allowed  (Matt.  xxvi.  63), 
but  to  the  strong  language  used  in  ordinary  conversation  (cf. 
Jas.  v.  12).  The  Law  only  provided  against  false  swearing 
(Lev.  xix.  12),  and  for  the  due  performance  of  vows  (Num.  xxx.  2  ; 
Deut.  xxiii.  21 ;  Eccles.  v.  4 ;  Ecclus.  xviii.  22).  The  new  Law  says 
that  speech  is  to  be  simple,  and  the  plain  word  is  to  suffice.  Casuistry 
allowed  the  breach  of  an  oath  if  it  was  not  '  by  God ',  but  only 
'  by  heaven  '  or  '  by  earth  'or  'by  Jerusalem  \  or  '  by  my  head  '. 
Christ  said  everything  is  '  by  God ',  heaven  is  His  throne,  earth 


46 


St.  MATTHEW  V.  35-43 


10r, 

toward 


2  Some 
ancient 
authori- 
ties read 
But  your 
speech 
shall  be. 

3  Or,  evil: 
as  in  ver. 
39 ;  vi.  13. 

4  Or,  evil 


5  Gr. 
impress. 


the  heaven,  for  it  is  the  throne  of  God  ;  nor  by  35 
the  earth,  for  it  is  the  footstool  of  his  feet ;  nor 
1  by  Jerusalem,  for  it  is  the  city  of  the  great 
King.     Neither  shalt  thou  swear  by  thy  head,  36 
for   thou   canst   not   make   one  hair  white  or 
black.     2  But  let   your  speech   be,   Yea,   yea  ;  37 
Nay,  nay :  and  whatsoever  is  more  than  these 
is  of 3  the  evil  one. 

Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said,  An  eye  for  38 
an  eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth  :  but  I  say  unto  39 
you,  Resist  not  4  him  that  is  evil :  but  whoso- 
ever smiteth  thee  on  thy  right  cheek,  turn  to 
him  the  other  also.     And  if  any  man  would  go  40 
to  law  with  thee,  and  take  away  thy  coat,  let 
him  have  thy  cloke  also.     And  whosoever  shall  41 
5  compel  thee  to  go  one  mile,  go  with  him  twain. 
Give  to  him  that  asketh  thee,  and  from  him  42 
that  would  borrow  of  thee  turn  not  thou  away. 

Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said,  Thou  shalt  43 


£ 


His  footstool,  Jerusalem  His  city,  and  your  own  body  is  entirely 
under  His  control.  Christ  discountenances  casuistry,  and  loves 
simplicity. 

38-42.  Retaliation.  The  old  Law  allows  it  (Ex.  xxi.  24  ;  Lev. 
xxiv.  20  ;  Deut.  xix.  29),  though  Lev.  xix.  18,  cited  in  the  next 
paragraph,  modifies  the  lex  talionis.  Christ  says  :  Such  must  be 
the  principle  of  the  Law-court,  but  do  not  go  to  law.  Bear 
injury  to  the  person,  to  property,  or  to  freedom,  and  give  and 
lend. 

40.  Luke  vi.  29  puts  the  outer  and  under  garments  in  the  right 
order. 

41.  compel  thee.  It  is  a  military  word  for  impressing,  to  carry 
soldiers'  baggage.  Cf.  xxvii.  32,  the  man  impressed  to  bear 
the  cross.  So  Herve  Riel  was  impressed  into  the  French  fleet, 
but  became  its  hero  and  deliverer ! 

42.  Giving  to  a  beggar.  This  is  one  of  the  worries  of  life  ;  but, 
He  says,  do  not  resist  it.  This  wise  yielding  to  the  troubles  and 
injustices  of  the  world  is  a  mystery  which  is  only  illuminated  by 
the  indwelling  Spirit. 

43-8.  Love  of  Enemies.   The  Law  commanded  love  to  a  neigh- 


St.  MATTHEW  V.  44-48  47 

44  love  thy  neighbour,  and  hate  thine  enemy :  but 
I  say  unto  you,  Love  your  enemies,  and  pray 

45  for  them  that  persecute  you  ;  that  ye  may  be 
sons  of  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  :\for  he 
maketh  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  the 
good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  the  un- 

46  just.  For  if  ye  love  them  that  love  you,  what 
reward  have  ye  ?  do  not  even  the  *  publicans  1  T,1,at  is> 

4  K  collectors 

47  the   same?     And   if  ye    salute   your   brethren  or  renters 

*  of  Roman 

only,  what  do  ye  more  than  others  ?  do  not  even  taxes  •. 

and  so 

48  the  Gentiles  the  same  ?     Ye  therefore  shall  be  elsewhere, 
perfect,  as  your  heavenly  Father  is  perfect. 

bour  (JLe^j^jcix^iS).  It  did  not  enjoin  hate  to  an  enemy;  far  from 
it  (Ex.  xxiih  4)  ;  it  only  encouraged  indifference  to  foreigners 
generally  (Deut.  xxiii.  6).  But  the  view  of  all  men,  before  Christ 
came,  was  that  it  is  an  equal  duty  to  love  one's  friends  and  to 
hate  one's  enemies. 

44.  Lu.  xxiii.  34  shows  how  He  did  what  He  commanded. 

45.  sons  of  the  Father.  This  means  that  all  men  are  brothers, 
and  yet  literally  it  is  '  that  ye  may  become  sons  of  the  Father ' 
(cf.  Lu.  vi.  35).  We  are  our  Father's  children  in  the  true  sense 
only  when  we  are  like  Him. 

he  maketh  his  sun.  Seneca's  language  in  his  De  Bcnejiciis, 
iv.  26,  is  strangely  similar  :  '  If  thou  imitatest  the  gods,  give 
benefits  even  to  the  ungrateful,  for  even  on  the  wicked  the  sun 
rises,  and  to  pirates  the  seas  are  open.' 

46.  How  absolutely  He  speaks  as  a  Jew  in  Matthew  ;  the 
publican  and  the  Gentile  represent  a  lower  standard  (cf.  vi.  7, 
32)  ;  ver.  47,  however,  is  missing  in  Luke  and  in  Syra  S. 

48.  *  Ye  shall  be  in  character  like  God.  Love  is  the  fulfilling 
of  the  Law.  When  you  love,  and  are  merciful  (Luke  vi.  36),  you 
approach  His  perfection.  The  Law  of  Moses  is  the  germ,  but  it 
must  blossom  into  the  law  of  love  if  you  are  to  be  like  God.' 
Phil.  iii.  12  shows  how  perfection  in  a  creature  is  only  the 
attitude  of  aiming  at  and  striving  after  the  Divine  character.  'Ye 
shall  be  perfect'  is  the  formula;  but  never  on  earth  'Ye  are 
perfect ',  and  still  less  '  I  am  perfect '. 

Thus  Christ's  '  But  I  say  unto  you  '  proves  to  be  not  the 
destruction  of  the  old  Law,  but  always  its  evolution  and  fulfil- 
ment. No  jot  or  tittle  disappears  ;  the  deeper  insight  and  the 
higher  interpretation  only  remove  restrictions,  and  widen  the 
applications  of  the  things  which  were  said  '  to  them  of  old  time  '. 


48  St.  MATTHEW  VI.   1,  2 

Take  heed  that  ye  do  not  your  righteousness  6 
before  men,  to  be  seen  of  them  :  else  ye  have 
no  reward  with  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven. 

When  therefore  thou  doest  alms,  sound  not  2 

Ch.  vi.  1-18.  After  dealing  with  the  Law,  Jesus  turns  to  the 
'  works  of  supererogation  '  of  Jewish  piety.  The  chief  work  of 
this  kind  was  almsgiving  (Sir.  vii.  io;  xxix.  12  ;  Tob.  iv.  7  ;  Acts 
x.  2,  xxiv.  17)  ;  indeed  almsgiving  and  righteousness  became 
almost  coextensive  in  their  significance,  so  that  the  majority  of 
our  MSS.  have  '  almsgiving'  in  ver.  1,  and  only  three  preserve  the 
obviously  correct  reading  'righteousness'.  In  the  works  of 
supererogation  Jesus  includes  secret  prayer,  and  fasting,  which 
were  not  regulations  of  the  Law. 

The  silence  of  Jesus  is  often  very  significant  :  He  does  not 
refer  at  all  to  the  cultus  or  to  circumcision,  which  did  not  belong 
to  the  essentials  of  religion.  It  is  His  characteristic  to  touch 
only  the  things  which  are  of  universal  validity.  His  eye  seems 
always  to  be  on  Humanity  as  a  whole.  The  contrast  between  Him 
and  the  particularistic  teachers  of  His  day — the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees — is  blunted  for  us  by  familiarity.  But  even  we  are 
constantly  filled  with  new  amazement  to  observe  how  applicable 
all  His  words  are  to  our  own  time.  Prof.  G.  J.  Romanes  said  : 
'  One  of  the  strongest  pieces  of  objective  evidence  in  favour  of 
Christianity  is  not  sufficiently  enforced  by  apologists.  Indeed  I 
am  not  aware  that  I  have  ever  seen  it  mentioned.  It  is  the 
absence  from  the  biography  of  Christ  of  any  doctrines  which  the 
subsequent  growth  of  human  knowledge — whether  in  natural 
science,  ethics,  political  economy,  or  elsewhere — has  had  to 
discount'  {Thoughts  on  Religion,  p.  157).  Not  only  does  he 
confine  Himself  to  universal  and  eternal  truths,  but  He  says  on 
each  what  seems  to  be  final. 

The  principle,  illustrated  by  the  three  examples  of  alms- 
giving, PRAYER,  AND  FASTING,  IS  THAT  PlETY  MUST  BE  A  RELATION 
BETWEEN  THE  SOUL  AND  THE  HEAVENLY  FATHER,  IN  WHICH  THE 
THOUGHT  OF  WHAT  MEN  THINK  OR  SAY  DOES  NOT  EVEN  OCCUR. 

1.  The  righteousness  of  the  Pharisees  was  '  to  be  seen  of  men  ' 
(ch.  xxiii.  5).  The  Greek  word  used  is  that  from  which  '  theatre  ' 
is  derived  ;  their  religion  was  theatrical.  The  word  '  hypocrite  ' 
in  Greek  means  'stage  player'.  Theatrical  religion  wins  the 
reward  which  good  actors  gain  from  men.  With  our  Father  in 
Heaven  it  is  worthless.  We  must  be  Jews  inwardly  if  we  are  to 
please  Him,  as  Paul  says  (Rom.  ii.  29).  'Though  in  some  cases  thou 
must  be  seen  to  do,  yet  in  no  case  do  to  be  seen'  (Archb.  Leighton). 

your  Father  which  is  in  heaven.      Your,  not  our.     The  phrase 
explains  how  heaven  stands  for  God  in  this  gospel. 

2.  Alms.     The  hypocrites  (play  actors)  give  their  alms  with  a 


St.  MATTHEW  VI.  3-5  49 

a  trumpet  before  thee,  as  the  hypocrites  do  in 
the  synagogues  and  in  the  streets,  that  they 
may  have  glory  of  men.     Verily  I  say  unto  you, 

3  They  have  received  their  reward.  But  when 
thou  doest  alms,  let  not  thy  left  hand  know 

4  what  thy  right  hand  doeth  :  that  thine  alms 
may  be  in  secret :  and  thy  Father  which  seeth 
in  secret  shall  recompense  thee. 

5  And  when  ye  pray,  ye  shall  not  be  as  the 
hypocrites  :  for  they  love  to  stand  and  pray  in 
the  synagogues  and  in  the  corners  of  the  streets, 


flourish  of  trumpets.  Consul  Wetstein  (Expositors  Greek  Testa- 
ment, p.  117)  gives  this  apt  illustration: — 'When  a  man  (in 
Damascus)  wants  to  do  a  good  act  which  may  bring  a  blessing  by 
way  of  divine  recompense  on  his  own  family,  e.  g.  healing  to  a 
sick  child,  he  goes  to  a  water-carrier  with  a  good  voice,  gives 
him  a  piece  of  money,  and  says  "  Sebil '' — i.  e.  give  the  thirsty  a 
fresh  drink  of  water.  The  water-carrier  fills  his  skin,  takes  his 
stand  in  the  market,  and  sings  in  varied  tones  :  "  O  thirsty,  come 
to  the  drink-offering  !  "  the  giver  standing  by,  to  whom  the  carrier 
says,  as  the  thirsty  drink,  '•  God  forgive  thy  sins,  O  giver  of  the 
drink  "  \  Such  is  the  kind  of  almsgiving,  to  be  seen  of  men, 
which  our  Lord  forbids. 

the  streets.  That  is,  the  narrow  streets  in  contrast  with  the 
broad  streets  (ver.  5). 

they  have  received.  The  Greek  word  direxovcri  (like  the  similar 
word  Luke  xvi.  25)  means  that  they  have  the  reward  in  full.  The 
plaudits  of  men  are  the  full  recompense  of  that  piety  which  is 
done  to  be  seen  of  men. 

3.  In  the  Arabic  the  relation  between  right  and  left  hand  is 
symbolic  of  the  closest  and  most  intimate  companionship.  We 
are  to  give  without  self-consciousness  or  self-complacency. 

4.  '  Openly '  of  the  A.  V.  is  a  gloss.  The  Father  who  sees  in 
secret  may  make  the  reward  secret  too.  The  secrecy  with  God 
throughout  is  the  condition  of  really  shining  for  Him.  The  very 
thought  of  a  public  reward  would  taint  the  act.  As  Bengel  says, 
1  Pii  lucent,  et  tamen  latent.'     'The  pious  shine,  and  yet  are  hid.' 

5.  6.  Prayer.  In  synagogues  and  corners  of  the  streets,  i.  e. 
where  crowds  are.  Methodizing  in  prayer,  cf.  Dan.  vi.  10,  ir.  The 
danger  of  it  becomes  manifest  in  Mohammedanism  ;  men  pray  in 
the  streets  at  the  appointed  times.  But  is  it  prayer  ?  The  rule 
in  religious  action  and  expression  would  seem  to  be — Show,  when 
tempted  to  hide  ;  hide,  when  tempted  to  show  :  see  v.  16. 

E 


5o  St.  MATTHEW  VI.  6-9 

that  they  may  be  seen  of  men.     Verily  I  say 
unto   you,    They   have   received   their  reward. 
But  thou,  when  thou  prayest,  enter  into  thine  6 
inner  chamber,  and  having  shut  thy  door,  pray 
to  thy  Father  which  is  in  secret,  and  thy  Father 
which  seeth   in  secret  shall  recompense  thee. 
And  in  praying  use  not  vain  repetitions,  as  the  7 
Gentiles  do :  for  they  think  that  they  shall  be 
heard  for  their  much  speaking.     Be  not  there-  8 
anciTnt       fore  like  unto  them  :  for  x  your  Father  knoweth 
tie^ad     what  things  ye  have  need  of,  before  ye  ask  him. 
Fa1/,yer!r   After  this  manner  therefore  pray  ye  :  Our  Father  9 

thine  inner  chamber.  It  is  the  storehouse,  mentioned  in  Sir. 
xxix.  12,  '  Shut  up  alms  in  thy  store-chambers,  and  it  shall 
deliver  thee  out  of  all  afflictions  '  :  cf.  Luke  xii.  24.  The  Father  in 
secret,  first  found  there,  then  recognized  everywhere.  Social 
prayer  is  only  a  reality  among  men  accustomed  to  private  prayers. 
7-15.  Another  subject.  The  heathen,  not  the  Pharisees,  are  in 
view.  The  slight  to  God  of  irreverent  prayer.  The  Lord's  Prayer 
is  a  model. 

7.  vain  repetitions.  It  is  rather  ; babble  not' — empty  words 
said  over  and  over  again. 

the  Gmtiles.  So  v.  47,  vi.  7,  32.  But  the  rabbis  also  attached 
importance  to  the  length  of  prayer  :  '  He  who  makes  his  prayer 
long,'  said  R.  Chanina,  'shall  not  go  away  empty.'  The  repeti- 
tions of  Pater  Nosters  and  Ave  Marias  in  the  Rosary  would  seem 
to  be  the  kind  of  abuse  which  Jesus  has  in  view. 

8.  your  Father  knoweth.  Why  then  pray  ?  Because  He  is 
your  Father.  A  Father  and  child  desire  mutual  intercourse  :  the 
one  asks  and  the  other  gives  in  order  to  tie  the  bond  closer.  But 
the  idle  babble  of  words,  and  the  thought  of  being  heard  for  much 
speaking,  is  destructive  of  that  sweet  and  trustful  union  between  the 
soul  and  God.  In  contact  with  Him  the  words  may  be  few.  When 
Spirit  with  Spirit  meets  the  intercourse  may  be  silent.  Verbiage 
is  an  offence  because  it  implies  want  of  thought  and  feeling. 

9.  After  this  manner.  The  prayer  is  thoroughly  Jewish.  The 
Kaddish  begins  with  the  request  'hallowed  be  thy  Name', 
though  it  adds  'in  the  future  world",  and  is  indeed  more  eschato- 
logical  and  Messianic,  so  that  it  could  not  contain  such  a  request 
as  '  give  us  this  day  our  bread  '.  But  the  Jews  alone  had  the 
secret  of  prayer ;  the  Gentiles  had,  and  have,  lost  it. 

Our  Father.     May  the  Father  replace  the  Pantheon  ! 


St.   MATTHEW  VI.   10-15  51 

which  art  in  heaven,  Hallowed  be  thy  name.  1  Gr.  our 

10  Thy  kingdom  come.     Thy  will  be  done,  as  in  t^am? 

11  heaven,   so  on  earth.     Give  us   this  day  1  our  lnKfay'>, 

12  daily  bread.     And  forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we  3  Many 

13  also  have  forgiven  our  debtors.     And  bring  us  ties,  some 

1  it  r  01         ancient, 

not  into  temptation,  but  deliver  us  from  *  the  but  with 

14  evil   one?      For   if  ye   forgive  men   their  tres-  tions, 
passes,  your   heavenly  Father  will   also  forgive  thine  is 

*5  you.    But  if  ye  forgive  not  men  their  trespasses,  Jom"and 
neither  will  your  Father  forgive  your  trespasses,    ^n/tk^^ 

10.  Thy  kingdom  come.  That  is  also  the  second  prayer  in 
the  Kaddish,  though  in  place  of  '  Thy  will  be  done  '  it  has  '  may 
your  prayer  be  granted'.  But  Jesus  interprets  the  'kingdom  of 
God  ',  which  was  to  the  Jews  an  earthly  and  political  expectation, 
as  the  sovereignty  of  God,  an  inward  and  spiritual  fact. 

When  the  first  place  has  been  given  to  the  heavenly  Father 
and  His  sovereignty,  then,  and  not  till  then,  we  ma}'  press  our 
personal  wants.     The  order  is  essential. 

ii.  our  daily  bread.  This  translation  rests  on  two  obscure 
MSS.  of  2  Mace.  i.  8,  which  render  the  'continual  bread'  of 
Num.  iv.  7,  by  the  Greek  word  k-niovoiov.  Origen  suggested 
another  interpretation,  '  supersubstantial,'  and  used  the  phrase  to 
emphasize  the  teaching  of  the  heavenly  bread  in  John  vi.  34. 
Jerome  says  that  the  Gospel  to  the  Hebrews  read  mahar,  Aramaic 
for  '  to-morrow '.  That  would  mean  that  each  day  we  ask  just 
for  to  morrow's  bread. 

12.  forgive  as  ive  have  forgiven.  This  may  be  said  to  be  a  pivot 
of  the  teaching  of  Jesus  :  cf.  xviii.  21-35. 

13.  into  temptation.  At  first  we  dread  it :  afterwards  we  rejoice 
in  it  (Jas.  i.  2). 

the  evil.  It  is  neuter  and  not  masculine.  It  is  the  constant 
prayer  to  escape  temptation,  which  makes  us  able  to  resist  when 
it  comes  ;  and  the  pra}"er  to  be  delivered  from  the  evil  renders 
the  evil  inoperative.  Prayer  puts  on  the  spiritual  armour,  and 
guarantees  victory    Eph.  vi.  16). 

The  beautiful  liturgical  ending  '  for  thine  is  the  kingdom  and 
the  power  and  the  glory'  is  not  in  four  of  the  best  MSS.,  but  it  is 
in  our  hearts. 

14.  The  fifth  petition  leads  the  evangelist  to  insert  the  saying 
from  xviii.  35.  As  forgiveness  of  sins  is  the  condition  of  all 
prayer  and  all  spiritual  growth,  the  forgiveness  of  those  who 
have  injured  us  is  of  transcendent  importance,  because  that  is  the 
condition  of  being  forgiven. 

E  2 


52  St.  MATTHEW  VI.  16-19 

gjj£y*f°r       Moreover  when  ye  fast,  be  not,  as  the  hypo- 16 
Amen.       crites,  of  a  sad  countenance :  for  they  disfigure 
their   faces,  that  they  may  be  seen  of  men  to 
fast.    Verily  I  say  unto  you,  They  have  received 
their    reward.     But   thou,    when   thou   fastest,  17 
anoint  thy  head,  and  wash  thy  face;  that  thou  18 
be  not  seen  of  men  to  fast,  but  of  thy  Father 
which  is  in  secret :  and  thy  Father,  which  seeth 
in  secret,  shall  recompense  thee. 

Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  upon  the  19 

16-18.  Fasting.  The  Pharisees  fasted  twice  a  week,  on  Mondays 
and  Thursdays,  the  days  of  the  ascent  and  descent  of  Moses  on  Sinai; 
just  as  Catholics  fast  on  Wednesday  and  Friday.  They  '  disfigure  ' 
their  faces  ;  rather  '  make  their  faces  disappear' ,  sc.  by  not  washing 
or  anointing  them,  and  by  an  artificial  gloom,  in  order  that  they 
may  appear  to  men  fasting.  The  reward  they  get  is  that  reputation 
for  piety  which  attaches  to  an  ascetic  countenance. 

But  fasting  to  be  valid  as  an  act  of  piety  must  be  in  secret. 
It  is  necessary  entirely  to  disguise  it  from  men,  not  to  mention 
the  time,  nor  to  betray  the  physical  effects.  Therefore,  the  washing 
and  anointing  must  be  done  as  usual  (cf.  Ruth  iii.  3 ;  2  Sam.  xii.  20 ; 
Dan.  x.  3),  and  the  whole  transaction  must  be  one  with  God 
alone. 

This  great  idea  of  a  life  lived  with  God,  without  reference  to 
the  thoughts  or  judgements  of  men,  flows  out  of  the  nature  of  the 
God  whom  Jesus  reveals.  Zeus,  or  Allah,  can  be  served  with 
prescribed  rites  and  outward  acts.  But  the  Father  in  Heaven 
can  only  be  served  with  the  heart.  The  intimate,  secret,  real 
communion  is  alone  pleasing  to  Him.  So  far  as  public  gifts,  public 
prayers,  and  public  fasts  are  the  natural  and  inevitable  outcome 
of  the  inward  relation  they  may  be  acceptable  to  Him  ;  but  as 
a  substitute  for  the  spiritual  realities,  they  are,  as  Isaiah  (i.  10-17) 
says,  an  abomination. 

19-34.  We  cannot  serve  God  and  Mammon,  nor  can  we  serve 
God  and  Care.  First  we  are  forbidden  to  lay  up  earthly  treasures 
for  ourselves,  because  our  heart  follows  our  treasures ;  and 
a  heart  set  on  earthly  treasures  is  like  an  eyeless  body  ;  there  is 
only  one  Lord  of  the  heart,  that  is  God.  He  is  the  Master-light 
of  all  our  seeing.  Then  we  are  warned  against  the  care  about 
our  earthly  life  which  is,  like  hoarding,  inconsistent  with  the  single 
devotion  to  God.  The  birds  and  the  flowers  teach  us  that  we 
may  remit  to  Him  all  anxiety  for  the  future,  and  take  each  day  as 
it  comes. 


St.   MATTHEW  VI.  20-23  53 

earth,  where  moth  and  rust  doth  consume,  and  1  Gr.  dig 
20  where  thieves  l  break  through  and  steal:    but   '   otlgt' 

lay  up  for  yourselves  treasures  in  heaven,  where 

neither  moth  nor  rust  doth  consume,  and  where 
1 1  thieves  do  not  '  break  through  nor  steal :    for 

where  thy  treasure  is,   there  will  thy  heart   be 

22  also.     The   lamp  of  the  body  is  the   eye  :   if 
therefore  thine  eye  be  single,   thy  whole  body 

23  shall  be  full  of  light.     But  if  thine  eye  be  evil, 


19-21.  There  is  a  grim  illustration  of  what  la3'ingup  treasure  for 
oneself  may  mean  in  Rom.  ii.  5  ;  and  there  is  a  suggestion  of 
a  legitimate  laj'ing  up  treasure  for  the  service  of  God  and  man  in 
1  Cor.  xvi.  2.  It  appears  from  the  Parable  of  the  Steward  that 
the  expenditure  of  money  for  the  good  of  others  is  one  way  of 
laNing  up  treasure  in  the  heavens.  And  from  1  Tim.  vi.  17-19 
it  appears  that  this  right  use  of  wealth  may  be  the  wisest  expendi- 
ture for  securing  life  that  is  life  indeed.  Our  Lord's  thought 
therefore  is,  implicitly,  twofold  :  First,  earthly  treasure  is  too 
evanescent  to  be  hoarded  or  to  be  the  object  of  the  heart's  affec- 
tions ;  Second,  treasures  in  heaven  are  secured  by  a  mastering 
concentration  on  God,  which  leads  a  man  to  consecrate  all 
possessions  to  Him,  and  to  use  them  for  the  good  of  others,  for 
His  sake. 

19.  moth  and  rust — or  corrosion.  What  I  kept  I  lost,  is  the 
constant  experience  of  men  :  what  I  gave  I  have. 

doth  consume.  It  is  the  same  word  as  in  v.  16,  which  we 
rendered  'cause  to  disappear'.  Earthly  treasures,  even  before 
they  are  stolen  or  destroyed,  become  so  mouldy,  rusty,  disfigured, 
that  they  are  repulsive  rather  than  attractive  to  their  owners. 
See  the  remarkable  passage  in  Hag.  i.  6-9. 

20.  treasures  in  heaven.  Luke  xvi.  9  points  to  the  nature  of 
these  treasures.  If  money  is  spent  for  the  good  of  others,  e.  g.  in 
sending  the  Gospel  to  the  heathen,  the}'  who  have  benefited  by  it 
form  a  company  to  welcome  the  giver  into  the  eternal  habitations. 

2T.  where  your  treasure  is.  If  the  heart  is  set  on  hoarding 
wealth  it  shows  in  the  materialization  and  corruption  of  that 
treasure.  Mammon  is  metal  in  heart  and  brain,  and  so  are  his 
worshippers.  The  heart's  true  object  is  God  ;  when  the  heart  is 
set  on  Him  it  cannot  attach  an  undue  value  to  money  ;  love  con- 
trols the  wealth  and  gives. 

22-3.  This  little  parable  of  the  eye  connects  the  truth  of  the 
Heavenly  Treasure  with  the  need  of  serving  only  one  Master, 
thus: — If  the  heart  is  set  on  earthly  wealth,  even  in  conjunction 


54  St.  MATTHEW  VI.  24,  25 

thy  whole  body  shall  be  full  of  darkness.  If 
therefore  the  light  that  is  in  thee  be  darkness, 
how  great  is  the  darkness  !  No  man  can  serve  24 
two  masters  :  for  either  he  will  hate  the  one,  and 
love  the  other ;  or  else  he  will  hold  to  one,  and 
despise  the  other.  Ye  cannot  serve  God  and 
mammon.  Therefore  I  say  unto  you,  Be  not  25 
anxious  for  your  life,  what  ye  shall  eat,  or  what 
ye  shall  drink ;  nor  yet  for  your  body,  what  ye 
shall  put  on.    Is  not  the  life  more  than  the  food, 

with  God.  a  double  vision  is  produced  ;  the  spiritual  confusion  is 
just  the  same  as  the  bodily  confusion  when  the  sight  is  deranged — 
when,  for  example,  the  eyes  present  two  planes  of  vision.  If  the 
eye,  the  organ  of  light,  is  darkness,  the  body  is  in  darkness  ;  if 
the  spiritual  vision  is  confused,  warped,  or  darkened,  the  spiritual 
life  is  similarly  darkened.  William  Law's  picture  of  Negotius  in 
the  Serious  Call  admirably  illustrates  the  darkening  which  results 
from  the  preoccupation  with  earthly  wealth. 

24.  The  double  service  is  impossible.  Here  Christ  reveals 
a  truth,  which  we  do  not  naturally  recognize.  We  all  think  that 
we  can  serve  God  and  Mammon.  We  admit  the  general  principle 
that  a  servant  cannot  serve  two  masters,  that  he  will  love  one 
and  hate  the  other  (cf.  Deut.  xxi.  15  ;  Gen.  xxix.  31-3),  or  will 
support  (so  the  word  is  translated  in  1  Thess.  v.  14)  the  one  and 
scorn  the  other  ;  but  we  do  not  recognize  that  God  and  Mammon 
are  two  masters.  We  have  therefore  to  accept  Christ's  word  for 
it,  that  the  two  are  irreconcilable,  and  that  the  choice  has  to  be 
made  between  them. 

Mammon.  Augustine  says  that  it  is  the  Punic  word  for  wealth  ; 
he  ought  to  know,  as  he  was  bishop  of  Hippo.  Wellhausen  says 
the  etymology  is  unknown. 

25~33'  The  '  therefore  '  is  the  same  in  Luke  xii.  22,  but  there  it 
connects  the  prohibition  of  anxiety  with  the  Parable  of  the  Rich 
Fool.  Here  it  seems  to  be  the  inference  from  the  impossibility  of 
seeking  earthly  wealth  and  God  together  to  the  further  impossi- 
bility of  seeking  God  and  being  occupied  with  earthly  care.  The 
preoccupation  of  the  rich  man  with  his  money-making  is  paralleled 
with  the  absorbing  anxiety  of  the  poor  man  to  get  necessaries. 
Both  passions  are  forbidden  ;  he  who  is  absorbed  in  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven  and  his  righteousness  escapes  both. 

25.  the  life  more  than  the  food.  ^Vvyij  is  either  ' life  '  or  'soul '. 
The  point  is  that  as  we  must  seek  God  and  not  money,  so  the 
personality,  body  and  soul,  is  to  be  considered,  rather  than  the 


St.  MATTHEW  VI.  26-30  55 

26  and  the  body  than  the  raiment?  Behold  the 
birds  of  the  heaven,  that  they  sow  not,  neither 
do  they  reap,  nor  gather  into  barns ;  and  your 
heavenly  Father  feedeth  them.     Are  not  ye  of 

27  much  more  value  than  they?  And  which  of 
you  by  being  anxious  can  add  one  cubit  unto 

2S  his  i  stature  ?    And  why  are  ye  anxious  concern-  1  or,  age 
ing  raiment?     Consider  the  lilies  of  the  field, 
how  they  grow ;  they  toil  not,  neither  do  they 

29  spin  :  yet  I  say  unto  you,  that  even  Solomon  in 
all  his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these. 

3°  But  if  God  doth  so  clothe  the  grass  of  the  field, 

_  _  —  — _^ 

things  it  possesses.  God  will  provide  for  these  wants  of  our 
dual  nature,  but  to  be  anxious  about  them  is  to  give  up  faith  in 
Him: 

For  other  things  mild  Heaven  a  time  ordains, 
And  disapproves  that  care  (though  v/ise  in  show) 
That  with  superfluous  burden  loads  the  day, 
And  when  God  sends  a  cheerful  hour,  refrains. 

Care  destroys  both  body  and  life.  God  gives  life  and  body;  He 
will  give  food  and  clothing. 

26.  The  birds — in  Luke  xii.  24,  the  ravens — teach  us  the  sim- 
plicity of  trust.  They  aie  busy,  it  is  true,  all  day  in  finding  their 
food,  but  they  have  no  anxiety ;  God  puts  in  their  way  what  they 
need.  The  expression  '  your  Heavenly  Father '  is  a  great  argu- 
ment. If  he  looks  after  the  little  birds,  will  He  not  look  after  His 
children  ?  '  He  who  takes  such  care  of  the  little  fishes  will  surely 
care  for  the  keeper  of  the  fishes,'  said  Frank  Buckland  on  his 
deathbed. 

27.  one  cubit.  A  short  man  was  Tpltn)yys,  a  tall  man  was  tct- 
pdnrjxvs  )  thus  the  difference  of  one  cubit  is  the  difference  between 
tallness  and  shortness.  God  makes  a  little  man  like  Zaccheus,  or 
'  rears  the  form  to  stately  height '.  God  who  makes  the  stature 
will  provide  the  nurture.  He  raised  the  span-long  infant  to  the 
six-foot  man  !    Can  we  not  trust  Him  to  supply  all  necessaries? 

28.  tlie  lilies  :  the  Lilium  Persicnm  and  the  red  anemone,  which 
cover  the  fields  of  Palestine  in  spring,  neither  toil,  like  men,  nor 
spin,  like  women  ;  and  yet  no  clothing  is  so  beautiful  as  they. 
They  are  the  raiment  of  the  common  grasses  which  are  plucked 
and  burnt  in  the  earthern  jar,  to  heat  it  for  baking.  The  opulent 
power  of  Him  who  gives  such  beauty  to  things  so  frail  will  surely 
provide  necessary  clothing  for  His  children  ! 


56  St.  MATTHEW  VI.  31-33 

which  to-day  is,  and  to-morrow  is  cast  into  the 
oven,  shall  he  not  much  more  clothe  you,  O  ye 
of  little  faith  ?    Be  not  therefore  anxious,  saying,  31 
What  shall  we  eat?  or,  What  shall  we  drink? 
or,  Wherewithal  shall  we  be  clothed  ?    For  after  32 
all  these  things  do  the  Gentiles  seek ;  for  your 
heavenly  Father  knoweth  that  ye  have  need  of 
all  these  things.     But  seek  ye  first  his  kingdom,  33 
and  his  righteousness  ;  and  all  these  things  shall 


32.  the  Gentiles.  These  earthly  goods  limit  the  aspirations  of 
the  heathen.  Prof.  A.  B.  Bruce  says  he  never  realized  the  truth 
of  Christ's  statement  till  he  read  the  Vedic  hymn,  in  which,  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  pra3Ters  for  pardon  addressed  to  Varuna, 
the  things  asked  for  are  material  goods — cows,  horses,  green 
pastures.     Thus  Indra  is  addressed  :  — 

To  wifeless  men  thou  givest  wives, 
And  joyful  mak'st  their  joyless  lives  ; 
Thou  givest  sons,   courageous,  strong, 
To  guard  their  aged  sires  from  wrong ; 
Lands,  jewels,  horses,  herds  of  kins, 
All  kinds  of  wealth  are  gifts  of  thine  : 
Thy  friend  is  never  slain  ;   his  might 
Is  never  worsted  in  the  fight. 

(D.  Muir,  Sanskrit  Texts,  vol.  v,  p.  137.) 

33.  seek  first.  Luke  (xiL  31)  omits  'first',  and  also  'righteous- 
ness '.  The  reading  'His  kingdom  and  His  righteousness'  is  quite 
justified.  '  Your  heavenly  Father  '  had  just  been  mentioned.  Let 
the  one  thought  be  to  have  him  reigning  in  your  heart  and  in  all 
hearts — '  Thy  kingdom  come  ' — and  to  realize,  not  the  Pharisaic 
righteousness,  but  the  righteousness  of  God,  that  which  is  revealed 
in  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and — so  says  our  Lord— a  wonderful  thing 
will  happen  ;  all  the  forces  of  nature  will  contribute  to  your  help 
and  your  support.  You  will  be  in  tune  with  the  Infinite,  and  such 
things  will  come  to  you  as  you  require,  such  friends  will  be  raised 
up  as  will  best  help  you  :  all  things  will  work  together  for  good. 
Remember,  we  are  not  dealing  here  with  a  law  deduced  from  the 
observation  of  facts,  but  with  a  law  revealed  by  Him  who  knows. 
Only  they  who  have  faith  to  act  upon  the  principle  find  the  facts 
in  accord  with  it.  The  majority  of  men,  even  of  Christians, 
still  live  encircled  with  care  and  anxiet}7,  la3'ing  up  treasure  for 
the  uncertain  future  or  uneasy  because  they  cannot  lay  it  up. 
Very  few  yet  venture  to  seek  the  Kingdom  with  all  their  hearts, 
secure  about  earthly  things,  in  all  the  liberty  and  liberality  of 


St.  MATTHEW  VI.  34— VII.  1,  2  57 

34  be  added  unto  you.     Be  not  therefore  anxious 

for  the  morrow  :  for  the  morrow  will  be  anxious 

for  itself.     Sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil 

thereof. 

7      Judge  not,  that  ye  be  not  judged.     For  with 


the  divine  sonship.  But  they  who  do  possess  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  also  possess  the  earth  ;  all  things,  present  and  to  come, 
are  theirs. 

34.  The  concluding  word  speaks  not  about  food  or  raiment  or 
money,  but  about  the  future,  as  such.  Have  no  anxiety  about  the 
future,  says  the  great  Teacher  ;  let  the  principle  be  that  all  anxiety 
shall  be  in  the  future,  not  about  it.  The  evil  (i.e.  the  misery,  or 
suffering,  or  affliction,  not  the  moral  evil)  which  the  day  brings,  is 
all  that  has  to  be  borne  ;  we  need  not  add  to  it  by  the  slightest 
feather  of  to-morrow's.  Perhaps  to-morrow  will  dawn  quite  free 
from  care.     Our  deliverance  may  always  be  to-day. 

Ch.  vii.  1-12.  The  Royal  Law.  It  is  commonly  supposed  that 
we  have  here  a  few  disconnected  precepts,  and  ver.  6  is  especially 
regarded  as  an  isolated  fragment  embedded  in  the  discourse. 
But  the  passage  is  far  more  fruitful  if  it  is  treated  as  a  connected 
argument.  And  the  'therefore'  of  ver.  12  can  have  no  meaning 
unless  that  verse  is  the  conclusion  of  the  argument.  Keeping  our 
eye  on  that  conclusion  we  can  see  the  drift  of  the  whole  passage, 
and  though  the  movement  is  not  very  patent,  it  is,  when  once 
pointed  out,  perfectly  clear,  while  the  appearance  of  discontinuity 
is  explained  by  the  aphoristic  mode  of  speech.  The  evangelist 
lays  together  the  sayings  of  Jesus,  but  does  not  presume  to  weld 
them  into  a  single  argument.  A  brief  analysis  will  make  the 
matter  plain  :— The  golden  rule,  derived  from  prophets  and 
lawgivers  is,  that  you  should  do  to  men  what  you  would  have  them 
do  to  you.  You  should  judge  them  as  3Tou  would  be  judged,  and 
treat  them  as  you  would  be  treated  ;  for  indeed  you  will  ultimately 
be  judged  and  treated  as  you  judge  and  treat.  You  should  correct 
yourself  and  not  others,  as  you  expect  them  to  correct  them- 
selves, and  not  you  (ver.  1-5).  But  this  does  not  mean  that 
3Tou  are  not  to  form  correct  notions  of  men's  characters  ;  on 
the  contrary,  3'ou  must  attempt  to  do  that,  or  3^011  will  make  the 
mistake  of  exposing  sacred  things  to  contumely,  and  yourself  to 
merited  punishment  (ver.  6).  But  how  can  any  one  have  the 
wisdom,  the  insight,  the  self-restraint,  to  carry  out  this  principle, 
to  see  clearly,  and  yet  refrain  from  judging,  to  recognize  the  beast 
in  man,  and  yet  be  wholly  bent  on  subduing  the  beast  in  himself? 
It  can  be  done  only  by  prayer.  This  precious  bread  from  heaven, 
the  character  expressed  in  the  golden  rule,  is  given  by  the  Father  ; 
He  will  not  mock  the  heart's  desire  for  that  food.     This  pearl  ot 


58  St.  MATTHEW  VII.  3-5 

what  judgement  ye  judge,  ye  shall  be  judged : 
and  with  what  measure  ye  mete,   it  shall   be 
measured  unto  you.     And  why  beholdest  thou  3 
the  mote  that  is  in  thy  brother's  eye,  but  con- 
siderest  not  the  beam  that  is  in  thine  own  eye  ? 
Or  how  wilt  thou  say  to  thy  brother,  Let  me  4 
cast  out  the  mote  out  of  thine  eye ;  and  lo,  the 
beam  is  in  thine  own  eye?     Thou  hypocrite,  5 
cast  out  first  the  beam  out  of  thine  own  eye ; 
and  then  shalt  thou  see  clearly  to  cast  out  the 
mote  out  of  thy  brother's  eye. 


price  is  found  by  seeking.  Into  that  house  of  rest  one  is  admitted 
by  knocking  (ver.  7-11).  One  need  not.  therefore,  despair  of 
adopting  and  even  of  realizing  the  golden  rule,  fulfilling  the  law 
and  the  prophets  (ver.  12). 

Now  let  us  go  back  to  the  details. 

1.  Judge  not.  The  limitation  to  the  prohibition  is  obvious  from 
the  context.  Our  Lord  is  not  forbidding  us  to  form  clear-sighted 
opinions  about  others,  or  even  to  censure  the  evil.  It  is  enough  to 
read  on  to  vii.  15  to  see  that  that  is  not  His  thought.  The  epigram- 
matic style  lays  the  brief  precept  open  to  this  misinterpretation. 
The  meaning  is,  Judge  always  in  view  of  the  way  you  would  be 
judged  ;  because,  as  a  fact — this  is  Christ's  decision — you  will  be 
judged  exactly  as  you  judge.  In  the  long  run  you  will  be  treated 
exactly  according  to  the  measure  which  you  use  to  others. 

2.  with  what  measure,  &c.  So  the  Rabbis,  '  with  the  measure 
wherewith  one  measures,  therewith  is  it  measured  in  return,' 
(Sota.  i.  7). 

3.  the  mote,  a  minute  particle  of  chaff  or  dust  ;  the  beam  is 
the  joist  of  the  roof.  It  is  a  hyperbole,  but  not  so  extravagant  as 
it  seems.  An  object  which  looks  tiny  in  another's  eye,  in  one's 
own  appears  very  big.  And  it  is  common  sense  that  if  a  particle, 
however  small,  is  dimming  the  eye  of  the  critic,  it  will  be  as  bad 
as  a  beam  in  preventing  him  from  extracting  a  similar  particle 
from  another's  eye. 

4.  The  only  basis  of  effectively  correcting  another  is  first  to 
correct  yourself. 

5.  Thou  hypocrite.  You  are  immediately  involved  in  the 
charge  of  rrypocrisy  if  jtou  reverse  the  order  and  attempt  to 
correct  the  other  first. 

then  shalt  thou  see  clearly.     By  being  first  severe  on  yourself 
and   getting    rid    of  your   own    fault   you    will  get   insight   and 


St.  MATTHEW  VII.  6-0  59 

6  Give  not  that  which  is  holy  unto  the  dogs, 
aeither  cast  your  pearls  before  the  swine,  lest 
haply  they  trample  them  under  their  feet,  and 
turn  and  rend  you. 

7  Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  you ;  seek,  and  ye 
shall  find ;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto 

8  you :  for  every  one  that  asketh  receiveth  \  and  he 
that  seeketh  findeth  ;  and  to  hira'that  knocketh 

9  it  shall  be  opened.     Or  what  man  is  there  of 

discrimination  for  helping  others.     So  far  is  Christ  from  wishing 
to  forbid  clear  insight  ! 

6.  This  discernment  is  needed,  to  do  anj'  good  in  the  world. 
Some  men  are  like  dogs  (Phil.  iii.  2  ;  Rev.  xxii.  15),  the  dirty, 
prowling  beasts  of  prey  that  haunt  the  alleys  of  an  Eastern  town. 
To  give  these  men  the  opportunity  of  desecrating  the  sanctities  of 
your  being  would  be  folly,  and  would  bring  the  rending  which 
\'ou  deserve  for  your  want  of  reticence  and  noble  reserve.  Other 
men  are  like  swine,  who  would  only  increase  their  own  guilt  by 
trampling  on  the  sh}'  delicacies  and  refinements  of  an  exquisite 
nature.  One  must  therefore  gain  the  faculty  of  discerning  spirits, 
and  knowing  what  kind  of  men  we  have  to  deal  with. 

Wellhausen  treats  the  pearls  as  the  Gospel,  the  dogs  as  the 
heathen  ^cf.  xv.  26  ,  and  quotes  x.  5  to  show  that  Christ  forbids 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  to  the  Gentiles  and  the  Samaritans. 
How  easy  it  is  to  pervert  the  words  of  heavenly  wisdom  ! 

7.  So  much  was  said  on  prayer  in  vi.  5-15  that  it  is  hardly 
possible  to  treat  this  new  reference  to  it  as  an  inconsequent  return 
to  the  subject.  One  is  bound  to  connect  the  prayer  here  with  the 
precepts  just  given.  In  order  to  judge  in  the  way  that  Christ 
requires,  without  censoriousness,  judging  oneself  first,  and  others 
only  with  the  clear  insight  gained  from  such  self-discipline,  it  is 
necessary  to  ask  the  Father  in  heaven  for  wisdom  and  power  and 
love. 

We  ask  for  what  we  wish  ;  we  seek  for  what  we  miss  ;  we 
knock  for  that  from  which  we  feel  ourselves  shut  out  (David 
Brown).  We  ask  for  wisdom,  and  God  gives  (Jas.  i.  5).  We 
seek  the  gift  of  discernment  from  Him  who  knows  what  is  in  men. 
We  knock  for  admission  into  that  Hall  of  Divine  Judgement.  In 
a  word,  we  crave  for  the  Spirit  (cf.  Luke  xi.  13). 

8.  The  context  fixes  the  limit  to  this  great  saying.  It  is  every 
one  who  seeks  for  this  wisdom  of  the  Golden  Rule  that  is  answered. 
Only  the  most  inattentive  reader  can  imagine  that  Christ  promises 
an  answer  to  every  request  of  every  one. 

9.  Bad  as  our  fallen  nature  is,  the  Father  in  us  is  not  extin- 


6o  St.  MATTHEW  VII.   10-12 

you,  who,  if  his  son  shall  ask  him  for  a  loaf,  will 
give  him  a  stone;  or  if  he  shall  ask  for  a  fish,  10 
will  give  him  a  serpent?     If  ye  then,  being  evil,  u 
know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  children, 
how  much  more  shall  your  Father  which  is  in 
heaven  give  good  things  to  them  that  ask  him? 
All  things  therefore  whatsoever  ye  would  that  12 
men  should  do  unto  you,  even  so  do  ye  also 
unto  them  :  for  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets. 


guished,  says  David  Brown.  A  father  may  refuse,  but  will  not 
mock,  a  child's  request.  The  child  wants  bread  ;  he  will  not  give 
him  a  stone  which  looks  like  a  loaf.  If  he  wants  fish  to  eat,  he 
will  not  give  him  the  sea-serpent,  that  scaleless  fish  found  in  the 
Sea  of  Galilee,  forbidden  in  the  law  (Lev.  xi.  ia).  And  if  we 
passionately  desire  right  conduct,  the  power  to  act  to  men  as  we 
should,  our  Father  will  not  mock  us  by  giving  a  mere  sham 
fulfilment  of  the  golden  rule. 

ir.  knozu  how  to  give.  See  2  Pet.  ii.  9  ;  it  means,  know  the 
moral  principle,  and  the  way  to  fulfil  it.  The  argument  is  over- 
whelming, though  it  is  what  logicians  call  an  enthymema  ;  there  is 
a  suppressed  premiss,  viz.  God  is  the  Father  of  men,  wiser  and 
kinder  and  stronger  than  earthly  fathers.  Fathers  do  not  mock 
their  children,  but  give  them  what  is  best  for  them  :  (God  is  your 
Father)  therefore  God  will  give  you  in  answer  to  prayer  this  rich 
moral  gift. 

12.  This  is  Christ's  supreme  law.  Roscnmiiller  says  it  is  the 
law  of  Nature  ;  and,  so  far  as  Christ  lighteth  every  man  coming 
into  the  world,  it  ought  to  be.  But  it  is  a  law  much  effaced.  In 
the  innumerable  parallels  to  it  which  Wetstein  collected  from 
Greek,  Roman,  and  Rabbinical  sources,  the  rule  is  only  stated  in 
a  negative  way  ;  e.  g.  in  Tobit  iv.  15  it  runs  :  '  What  thou  thyself 
hatest  do  to  no  man '  ;  or  Confucius  :  '  Do  not  to  others  what  you 
would  not  wish  done  to  yourself  (Legge,  Chinese  Classics,  i.  191). 
Christ  puts  the  great  law  in  the  positive  form  :  not  only  refrain 
from  doing  to  others  what  you  would  not  have  done  to  you  ;  go 
farther  than  this,  and  do  to  them  all  that  you  would  have  them  do 
to  you.     The  difference  is  great  and  vital. 

But  the  distinction  of  Christ's  precept  is  the  connexion  with 
the  great  principle  of  judging,  and  the  recognition  that  so  lofty  a 
type  of  conduct  is  only  rendered  possible  by  a  loving  trust  in  a 
Heavenly  Father  and  by  believing  prayer  for  the  grace  to  realize  it. 
The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  is  not,  as  we  have  seen,  a  reversal  of 
all  the  religious  truth  which  preceded  it ;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  the 


St.  MATTHEW  VII.  13,   14  61 


13      Enter  ye  in  by  the  narrow  s;ate :  for  wide  Ms  1Some 

J  J  °  ancient 

the  gate,  and  broad  is  the  way,  that  leadeth  to  authori- 
ties omit 
destruction,   and  many  be  they  that  enter  in  *sthe 

M  thereby.   2  For  narrow  is  the  gate,  and  straitened  2  Many 

the  way,  that  leadeth  unto  life,  and  few  be  they  authorities 

that  find  it.  ggl 

fulfilment  of  the  law  and  the  prophets.  Christ  does  not  show  His 
originality  by  propounding  new  laws  of  conduct — they  have  been 
from  the  beginning,  for  they  rest  in  the  constitution  of  man  as  the 
son  of  God — but  by  carrying  these  laws  into  deeper  strata  of 
human  life,  and  by  showing  the  spiritual  method  of  fulfilling 
them. 

vii.  13-29.  Conclusion  of  the  Sermon  :  The  two  ways  ;  False 
prophets  ;  False  disciples ;  the  rock  and  the  sand  ;  the  effect 
of  the  discourse. 

13-14.  The  narrow  and  broad  way.  The  idea  is  found  in  Deut. 
xxx.  19  ;  Jer.  xxi.  8  ;  and  in  Ps.  i.  6.  But  the  interpretation  is 
determined  here  by  the  context  — an  interpretation  which  probably 
underlies  Luke  xiii.  24  as  well.  The  narrow  gate  and  the 
straitened  way  is  the  character  and  conduct  which  have  just  been 
epitomized  in  the  Golden  Rule  (ver.  12).  In  Luke  the  emphasis 
'  strive,  or  agonize,  to  enter  in  '  is  justified  by  what  we  saw  of  the 
difficulty  of  judging  others  as  we  would  be  judged,  and  the  striving 
is  described  here  in  ver.  7.  The  Golden  Rule  leads  to  life,  and  its 
opposite  to  spiritual  ruin.  But  the  Golden  Rule  is  necessarily  a 
kind  of  Cross- taking,  while  the  selfish  reverse  is  quite  easy — you 
drift  along  it  naturally.  Hence,  as  the  Lord  says,  while  the  broad 
way  of  self-indulgence  is  thronged,  there  are  only  few  who  take 
the  way  of  the  Cross.  In  2  Esdras  viii.  3  this  language  is  used 
concerning  the'ultimate  salvation  of  men  :  '  There  be  many  created, 
but  few  shall  be  saved  '  ;  and  Esdras  is  rebuked  for  thinking  that 
he  can  love  God's  creature  more  than  He  does  (ver.  47).  As 
the  question  is  raised  in  Luke  xiii.  24  it  seems  to  refer  to  the 
final  doom  of  souls  ;  but  the  language  in  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  is  more  limited,  more  practical.  As  surely  as  the  Way 
which  Christ  describes  is  the  Way  of  Life  (cf.  Acts  ix.  2,  xix.  9, 
&c),  so  surely  is  it  one  which  is  trodden  by  comparatively  few. 
Whatever  may  be  the  explanation,  the  fact  stares  every  inquirer 
in  the  face  : — 

But  two  ways  are  offered  to  our  will — 

Toil,  with  rare  triumph,  Ease  with  safe  disgrace  ; 
Nor  deem  that  acts  heroic  wait  on  chance  ! 

The  man's  whole  life  preludes  the  single  deed 
That  shall  decide  if  his  inheritance 

Be  with  the  sifted  few  of  matchless  breed, 

Or  with  the  unnoticed  herd  that  only  sleep  and  feed. 

(Lowell.) 


62  St.  MATTHEW  VII.   15-21 

narrow         Beware  of  false  prophets,  which  come  to  you  15 
gate,  (ye.     in  sheep's  clothing,  but  inwardly  are  ravening 

wolves.    By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them.    Do  16 
men  gather  grapes  of  thorns,  or  figs  of  thistles  ? 
Even  so  every  good  tree  bringeth  forth  good  17 
fruit ;  but  the  corrupt  tree  bringeth  forth  evil 
fruit.     A  good  tree  cannot  bring  forth  evil  fruit,  18 
neither  can  a  corrupt  tree  bring  forth  good  fruit. 
Every  tree  that  bringeth  not  forth  good  fruit  is  19 
hewn  down,  and  cast  into  the  fire.     Therefore  20 
by  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them.     Not  every  2  r 
one  that  saith  unto  me,  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter 


is -20. 


The  false  Prophet  is  a  rotten  Tree.  The  connexion 
implies  that  the  false  prophet  is  one  who  would  represent  the  way 
of  life  as  broad,  and  the  way  of  death  as  narrow.  He  makes  havoc 
of  Christ's  flock,  a  wolf  disguised  in  sheep-skin  (Ezek.  xxii.  27  ; 
Acts  xx.  29  ;  and  see  Mic.  iii.  5  ;  John  x.  12).  A  tree  is  degenerate 
by  age  or  bad  soil ;  and  the  false  prophet  appears,  when  with  the 
lapse  of  time  the  Church  becomes  corrupt.  Such  are  Simon 
Magus,  Hymenaeus  and  Alexander  (1  Tim.  i.  20)  ;  and  in  the 
Teaching  of  the  Twelve  (ch.  xii)  already  there  were  prophets  who 
travelling  about,  without  means  of  living,  were  a  burden  on 
the  churches  ;  they  are  described  as  XpiaTe/iiropoi,  '  making 
merchandize  of  Christ.' 

16.  There  are  thorns  with  a  grapelike  fruit  and  thistles  with 
a  figlike  head  (Bruce).  But  these  appearances  do  not  deceive  ; 
if  we  are  trained  to  judge,  as  we  are  taught  in  ver.  1-12,  we  see 
the  fruits  in  character  and  life.  The  sheep  is  only  in  the  skin  ; 
in  the  heart  is  the  wolf.  The  fruits  of  character  described  in  the 
whole  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  summed  up  in  Gal.  v.  22,  are  the  real 
test  of  every  religious  teacher  and  teaching. 

21-3.  False  Disciples.  From  the  warning  against  false  teachers 
who  speak  of  Him  as  Lord  but  bring  forth  no  corresponding  fruits, 
He  passes  to  warn  all  disciples,  whether  teachers  or  not,  that  the 
test  in  the  day  of  judgement,  which  must  come  to  all  of  us,  will  be 
not  What  did  he  say?  but  What  did  he  do?  The  lofty  thought  of 
the  Beatitudes  may  be  admitted  by  all  ;  the  inwardness  of  the 
Law,  the  dependence  on  God  and  not  upon  stored  wealth,  may 
be  recognized  as  just,  and  even  talked  about ;  the  Golden  Rule  is 
as  a  matter  of  fact  accepted  by  the  whole  world  as  the  true 
principle  of  conduct.  But  the  question  will  be,  not  Did  you  allow 
the  truth  and  justice  of  this  teaching  ?  but  Did  you  practise  it  ? 


St.  MATTHEW  VII.  22,  23  63 

into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;  but  he  that  doeth 

22  the  will  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.  Many 
will  say  to  me  in  that  day,  Lord,  Lord,  did  we 
not  prophesy  by  thy  name,  and  by  thy  name 
cast  out   1  devils,  and  by  thy  name  do  many  17Gr- 

J  J  J    demons. 

23  2 mighty  works?     And  then  will  I  profess  unto  2Gr. 
them,  I  never  knew  you :  depart  from  me,  ye 

'  There  is  a  great  temptation  to  substitute  sentimental  or  aesthetic 
admiration  for  heroic  conduct '  (Bruce). 

ax.  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.  This  is  the  first  time  in  our 
Gospel  that  Christ  uses  this  peculiarly  personal  phrase  ;  at  xi.  27 
it  is  explained.  Freely  as  He  treats  the  Fatherhood  of  God, 
allowing  that  all  men  are  His  children.  He  instinctively  guards 
against  the  mistake  which  men  so  easily  make,  that  His  own 
Sonship  is  of  that  general  character.  The  sense  in  which  He  sa}rs 
1  My  Father  in  heaven '  is  one  in  which  He  alone  can  use  the 
phrase  ;  others  by  a  relation  to  Him  may  use  it  with  vivid  con- 
sciousness and  profound  gratitude,  but  under  no  circumstances  can 
others  claim  the  exclusiveness  of  it,  as  He  did.  And  yet  He 
asserts  His  Sonship  neither  to  boast,  nor  to  overawe  mankind, 
but  simply  and  inevitably  because  of  His  intrinsic  truthfulness. 
enter  into  the  kingdom.     Rather  'attain  to'  (Dalman,  p.  116). 

22.  prophesy.  That  is  the  inspired  preaching  referred  to  in 
1  Cor.  xii.  28,  and  shown  to  be  sometimes  very  valueless  in 
ch.  xiii.  2.  The  casting  out  devils,  too,  was  possible  in  the 
charged  atmosphere  of  Christ's  manifestation  (Mark  ix.  38),  and 
yet  it  might  not  be  connected  with  the  person  who  used  the  words 
at  all. 

mighty  works.  Thesre  are  the  miracles  referred  to  in  1  Cor. 
xii.  29.  For  it  is  plain  in  all  the  history  of  the  Church  that  men 
have  and  exercise  spiritual  gifts  without  that  goodness  of  life 
and  character  which  constitutes  real  discipleship  to  Christ.  It 
is  of  supreme  importance  not  to  weaken  by  the  intrusion  of 
dogmatic  ideas  this  close  connexion  which  it  pleased  our  Lord  to 
establish  between  a  certain  type  of  character  on  earth  and  His 
final  recognition  in  the  world  to  come. 

23.  will  I  profess.  The  Greek  word  always  means  'acknow- 
ledge '  ;  it  is  •  confess  '  in  John  i.  20  ;  Heb.  xi.  13  ;  Acts  xxiv.  14. 
And  by  keeping  the  correct  meaning  here  we  get  a  lovety  revela- 
tion of  the  heart  of  Jesus.  '  I  shall  confess/  He  says,  '  that  I 
never  knew  them,'  as  if  implying  that  He  would  have  liked  to 
know  them,  and  in  a  sense  He  ought  to  know  them  ;  but  He  is 
bound  to  admit  that  He  does  not,  because  that  moral  and  spiritual 
tie  is  wanting. 

depart  from  me,  sounds  menacing  in  the  English,  but  it  is 


64  St.  MATTHEW  VII.  24 

that  work  iniquity.     Every  one  therefore  which  24 
heareth  these  words  of  mine,  and  doeth  them, 
shall  be  likened  unto  a  wise  man,  which  built  his 


not ;  it  is  even  doubtful  whether  it  is  imperative  at  all.  The 
word  suggests  a  voluntary  withdrawing  (Luke  ix.  39  ;  Acts  xiii. 
13)  ;  and  it  should  be  read  '  You  withdraw  from  me,  you  who 
work  iniquity ' — not  because  they  did  it  once,  but  because  they 
are  still  doing  it.  Christ  can  only  know  those  who  work  in 
harmony  with  His  own  character  and  requirements.  Evidently 
2  Tim.  ii.  19  is  an  echo  of  this  :  '  Nevertheless  the  foundation  of 
God  standeth  sure,  having  this  seal,  The  Lord  knoweth  them  that 
are  his,  and  let  every  one  that  nameth  the  name  of  Christ  depart 
from  iniquity.' 

The  words,  as  one  listens  •attentively  to  the  Speaker,  do  not 
sound  as  a  menace  or  even  as  a  verdict,  but  rather  as  the  sad 
statement  of  a  law,  as  certain  and  immovable  as  the  foundations 
of  the  earth,  the  law  which  the  conscience  affirms  both  before 
and  after  it  is  stated  by  Him  :  Moral  values  are  essential  and 
permanent.  There  is  a  type  of  character  which  is  heavenly,  and 
other  types  are  earthly.  The  heavenly  can  and  must  enter 
Heaven  ;  the  earthly  must  not,  because  it  cannot. 

24-7.  The  Rock  and  the  Sand. 

24.  these  ivords.  In  Luke  vi.  47-9  this  simile  follows  on  the 
paragraph  about  the  mote  and  the  beam,  though  not  referring 
exclusively  to  that ;  for  the  expression  is  general  :  '  Every  one 
that  heareth  my  words.'  Here  the  reference  seems  to  be 
specifically  to  all  the  contents  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  The 
Beatitudes,  the  Inner  Law,  the  Secret  Life,  the  Freedom  from 
Care,  the  Golden  Rule,  constitute  a  scheme  or  ideal  of  life  ; 
every  one  who  hears  and  realizes  this  teaching  is  like  a  house 
built  on  a  rock,  while  he  who  only  hears  and  does  not  realize  it  is 
like  a  house  built  on  the  sand.  But  clearly  our  Lord  used  the 
image  with  a  wider  reference  than  to  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
or  any  other  part  of  His  teaching.  The  mention  of  a  rock  reminds 
us  that  a  rock  (irirpa)  is  needed,  on  which  to  rear  the  fabric  of  His 
religion.  And  that  rock  (ch.  xvi.  18)  is  found  in  the  confession  : 
'  Thou  art  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God.'  Possibly,  therefore, 
the  best  commentary  on  the  passage  is  that  saying  in  St.  John 
(v.  24)  :  'Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  he  that  heareth  my 
word  and  believeth  Him  that  sent  me  hath  eternal  life  and  cometh 
not  into  judgement,  but  hath  passed  out  of  death  into  life.'  And 
there  is  the  more  reason  for  seeking  this  explanation  of  the 
words,  and  for  finding  the  security  rather  in  Him,  the  sure 
foundation  (1  Pet.  ii.  3-6),  than  in  His  teaching  by  itself,  because, 
if  the  test  were  to  be  an  absolute  hearing  and  doing  of  all  the  things 
contained  in  this  Sermon,  there  would  indeed  be  few  who  attain 


St.  MATTHEW  VII.  25-27  65 

2  5  house  upon  the  rock:  and  the  rain  descended, 
and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and 
beat  upon  that  house;  and  it  fell  not :  for  it  was 

26  founded  upon  the  rock.  And  every  one  that 
heareth  these  words  of  mine,  and  doeth  them 
not,  shall  be  likened  unto  a  foolish  man,  which 

27  built  his  house  upon  the  sand:  and  the  rain 
descended,  and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds 
blew,  and  smote  upon  that  house ;  and  it  fell : 
and  great  was  the  fall  thereof. 

to  life.  Unless  salvation  is  by  faith,  and  not  by  works,  who  can  be 
saved  ? 

shall  be  likened.  Not  only  '  compared  with  ',  but '  assimilated 
to'. 

a  wise  man,  i.e.  thoughtful,  prudent. 

built  his  house.  The  image  of  the  wall  with  untempered 
mortar  in  Ezek.  xiii.  10-14,  may  be  set  side  by  side  with  this. 

25.  beat  upon.  In  the  Greek  it  is  '  fell  upon  '.  The  rain  and 
the  wind  fell  upon  the  house,  but  it  fell  not.  We  may  wonder 
whether  any  one  can  so  fulfil  the  Law  of  the  Mount  that  his  life 
and  character  would  stand  impregnable  :  if  it  was  asked  about  the 
Mosaic  Law,  '  Which  of  you  keepeth  the  law  ?  '  and  the  rabbis 
could  say  that  if  any  Israelite  should  keep  the  whole  Law  even 
for  one  day  then  Messias  would  come,  is  it  not  still  more 
impossible  to  keep  this  deeper  and  more  inward  law?  In  many 
things  we  offend  and  come  short.  No,  a  Man  must  be  as  a 
shelter  in  this  storm  of  wind  and  rain  ;  as  the  flood  comes  in,  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  must  lift  up  a  standard  against  it.  Only  a 
Gospel  of  Grace,  a  salvation  by  faith  in  Christ,  can  build  the 
house  on  the  rock  ;  He  must  be  the  end  of  the  Law  to  every  one 
that  believeth,  the  end  of  His  own  Law,  as  well  as  of  the  Law 
from  Sinai.  It  is  only  against  the  building  on  this  rock,  that  the 
gates  of  Hell  cannot  prevail. 

26.  a  foolish  man.  It  is  the  very  term  which  man  is  forbidden 
to  apply  to  his  brother  (v.  22) ;  but  God  may  and  does  apply  it. 
'  Thou  fool,  this  night  thy  soul  shall  be  required  of  thee  '  (Luke  xii. 
20).  He  built  his  house  on  some  alluvial  deposit,  in  a  torrent 
which,  having  carried  it  there,  may  carry  it  away.  '  So  is  he 
that  layeth  up  treasure  for  himself,  and  is  not  rich  toward  God.' 

27.  smote  upon.  A  stronger. word  than  '  fell  upon  '  in  ver.  25, 
as  if  the  stormy  winds  '  fulfilling  His  will'  attacked  with  added 
vigour  the  ill-founded  structure.  The  sorry  builder  is  he  who, 
having  no  vital  faith  in  Christ,  leaves  his  religion  to  his  priest  or 

F 


66  St.  MATTHEW  VII.  28— VIII.  2 

And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jesus  ended  these  28 
words,  the  multitudes  were  astonished  at  his 
teaching  :  for  he   taught   them  as  one  having  29 
authority,  and  not  as  their  scribes. 

And   when    he   was   come   down    from    the  8 
mountain,  great  multitudes  followed  him.     And  2 

parson,  as  in  Milton's  scathing  description  :  '  What  should  a 
wealthy  man  do,  addicted  to  his  pleasure  and  his  profits  ?  Fain 
he  would  have  the  name  to  be  religious  ;  what  does  he  therefore 
but  resolve  to  give  over  toiling,  and  to  findhimself  out  some  divine 
of  note  and  estimation  ?  To  him  he  adheres,  resigns  the  whole 
warehouse  of  his  religion,  with  all  the  locks  and  keys,  into  his 
custody  ;  and  indeed  makes  the  very  person  of  that  man  his 
religion.  He  entertains  him,  gives  him  gifts,  feasts  him,  lodges 
him  ;  his  religion  comes  home  at  night,  prays,  is  liberally  supped 
and  sumptuously  laid  to  sleep ;  rises,  is  saluted,  and  better  break- 
fasted than  he  whose  morning  appetite  would  have  gladly  fed  on 
green  figs  between  Bethany  and  Jerusalem.  His  religion  walks 
abroad  at  eight,  and  leaves  his  kind  entertainer  in  the  shop, 
trading  all  day  without  his  religion'  {Prose  Works,  vol.  ii, 
p.  97,  &c). 

28.  The  astonishment  §f  the  multitudes,  who  contrast  Jesus 
with  the  Scribes.  The  Scribes  were  not  astonished,  but  only 
angry  with  Him  and  the  multitudes. 

29.  as  having  authority,  i.  e.  in  Himself.  This  personality  of 
Jesus  is  the  seat  of  authority  in  Religion,  which  one  in  vain  seeks 
elsewhere. 

Ch.  viii.  1-17.  When  Matthew  has  given  the  sum  of  the  Lord's 
teaching  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  he  proceeds  to  illustrate 
His  healings  by  a  series  of  examples  selected  from  the  whole 
course  of  the  ministry.  It  will  be  observed  at  once  (v.  17)  that 
the  evangelist  regards  the  cures  as  symbolical.  Sin  is  the  under- 
lying disease ;  and  the  healing  of  diseases  points  to  Christ's  mode 
of  dealing  with  sin.  Accordingly,  all  the  details  of  the  cures  are 
found  to  be  symbolic  of  the  soul's  relation  with  the  Saviour  in 
getting  rid  of  its  sins.  On  the  one  hand  we  must  apprehend  the 
heart  of  love  and  pity,  which  made  Jesus  '  take  our  infirmities  and 
bear  our  sins '  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  we  must  see  through  the 
parable  to  the  deeper  truth,  present  to  the  evangelist,  that  He 
took  our  sins  upon  Himself,  and  bore  them  too. 

The  three  illustrative  cures,  of  the  leper,  the  centurion's 
servant,  and  Peter's  wife's  mother,  are  brought  together,  in  order 
to  show  the  variety  and  range  of  His  healing  power.  They  must 
be  studied  apart,  and  then  put  together,  if  we  are  to  receive  their 
full  effect. 


St.  MATTHEW  VIII.  3  67 

behold,  there  came  to  him  a  leper  and  wor- 
shipped him,  saying,  Lord,  if  thou  wilt,  thou 
3  canst  make  me  clean.  And  he  stretched  forth 
his  hand,  and  touched  him,  saying,  I  will;  be 
thou  made  clean.     And  straightway  his  leprosy 


It  may  be  observed  that  the  connexion  between  the  disease  and 
the  sin  in  Isa.  liii.  4  is  brought  out  by  the  LXX  ;  for  while  the 
Hebrew  says :  '  Surely  He  hath  borne  our  sicknesses  and  carried 
our  sorrows/  the  Greek  translation  says  :  '  He  bears  our  sins 
and  suffers  for  us ' ;  and  accordingly,  while  Matthew  quotes  the 
prophecy  literally,  we  habitually  quote  it  in  the  metaphorical 
sense  on  the  authority  of  1  Pet.  ii.  24,  who  interpreted  Isa.  liii  for 
us  :  '  Himself  bore  our  sins  .  .  .  we  were  as  sheep  going  astray, 
but  are  returned  unto  the  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  our  souls.' 

Observe  that  Christ's  miracles  are  done,  not  by  prayer,  nor  by 
spells,  but  by  commands  ;  He  has  divine  authority  (ix.  6  ;  Mark 
vii.  34,  &c). 

1-4.  The  Leper.  By  examining  Mark  i.  40-5  and  Luke  v.  12-16, 
it  will  be  seen  that  no  stress  is  to  be  laid  on  the  date  of  this  cure, 
or  on  its  connexion  in  time  with  those  that  follow.  This  is  the 
first  case  of  leprosy  healed  recorded  by  the  Synoptic  evangelists  ; 
and  Matthew  places  it  first  in  his  account  of  the  cures,  because  the 
disease,  (1)  loathsome,  (2)  contagious,  and  (3)  incurable,  was 
always  the  type  of  Sin.  The  ceremonial  cleansing  of  leprosy,  in 
Lev.  xiii.  14,  was  typical  of  a  promised  cure  of  sin  and  uncleanness, 
as  we  see  in  Ps.  Ii.  7  (cf.  Naaman's  cure,  2  Kings  v.  1-14). 

Observe,  the  leper  is  an  Israelite,  and  his  cure  follows  strictly 
the  ordinance  of  the  Mosaic  Law  (v.  4). 

2.  And  behold.  This  lively'way  of  introducing  a  narrative  is, 
says  Weiss,  the  sign-mark  of  the  apostolic  document. 

The  leper  came  and  worshipped  him.  Matthew  alone  uses  this 
word  here.  The  word  js  sometimes  used  of  the  obeisance  made 
to  a  man  in  power  ;  nor  does  the  appellation  '  Lord  '  necessarily 
mean  more  than  Sir  ;  at  the  same  time  the  leper's  sublime  con- 
fidence in  Christ's  power  proves  that,  even  if  he  did  not  know 
Christ's  divinity,  he  yet  prayed  to  Him,  as  he  might  have  done  to 
God.     He  makes  no  question  of  His  power. 

Accordingly,  all  the  Gospel  is  in  this  brief  dialogue  :  •'  If  thou 
wilt'  ..  .  'I  will.' 

3.  touched  him.  This  brought  ceremonial  defilement  (Lev.  v.  3, 
xiii.  46).  But  Christ  incurs  the  defilement  in  bearing  the  sins  ; 
therein  lies  the  atonement. 

4.  The  reason  why  the  cured  man  was  not  to  tell  any  one  is 
shown  by  Mark  (i.  45).  The  disobedience  to  the  prohibition 
brought  about  the  Healer  such  a  crowd  and  a  furore,  that  He 

F  2 


68  St.  MATTHEW  VIII.  4-7 

was  cleansed.     And  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  See  4 
thou  tell  no  man ;  but  go  thy  way,  shew  thyself 
to  the  priest,  and  offer  the  gift  that  Moses  com- 
manded, for  a  testimony  unto  them. 

And  when  he  was  entered  into  Capernaum,  5 
there  came  unto  him  a  centurion,  beseeching 
1  Or,  boy     him,  and  saying,  Lord,  my  *  servant  lieth  in  the  6 
house  sick  of  the  palsy,  grievously  tormented. 
And  he  saith  unto  him,  I  will  come  and  heal  7 


could  no  longer  go  into  a  city.  The  confession  of  the  cure  to  the 
priest  was  prescribed  by  the  Law  (Lev.  xiv.  10-21).  The  testi- 
mony to  them,  i.  e.  the  public,  means  the  certificate  that  the  leper 
was  fit  for  human  society  again.  But  when  we  turn  to  Heb.  iii.  5, 
and  see  how  Moses  was  a  testimony  of  Spiritual  truth,  we  cannot 
help  reading  the  words  '  for  a  testimony  unto  them '  in  a  wider 
sense.     The  leper's  cure  S3'mbolizes  Christ's  cure  of  sin. 

5-13.  The  Centurion's  Servant.  Luke  (vii.  1-10)  narrates  the 
same  cure,  connected  also  with  the  return  to  Capernaum  [after 
preaching  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 

In  the  scale  of  Christ's  redemptive  work  this  marks  another 
step  in  two  ways  :  (1)  it  is  a  Gentile  who  gains  the  boon  by  faith, 
and  (2)  the  healing  is  effected  without  contact,  merely  by  a  word 
spoken  at  a  distance. 

5.  The  centurion,  a  Roman  who  was  drawn  to  the  religion  of 
the  country  in  which  he  was  serving,  built  the  people  a  syna- 
gogue in  token  of  his  sympathy  (Luke  vii.  3),  and  now  was  better 
able  to  recognize  Christ  than  the  Jews  themselves.  Though  he 
employed  the  elders  of  the  Jews  as  his  messengers  (Matthew 
thought  that  he  came  himself),  it  would  seem  from  the  Lord's 
words  (v.  10)  that  they  had  not  his  faith. 

Wellhausen  mentions  that  the  centurion  is  in  the  Syriac  version 
and  some  Latin  versions  a  chiliarch,  i.  e.  a  court  official  (Mark  vi. 
21).     But  v.  8  shows  that  he  was  a  soldier. 

6.  servant.  The  Greek  word  irais  means  a  boy  ;  but  in  usage  it 
meant  a  servant,  just  as  garcon  does  in  French.  The  love  for  his 
servant  is  a  fine  trait :  '  He  is  not  worthy  to  be  well  served/  sa3rs 
Bishop  Hall,  '  who  will  not  sometimes  wait  upon  his  followers.1 
The  servant  was  paralysed,  and — an  aggravation  not  often  accom- 
panying paralysis — in  great  torment.  It  was  a  nerve  disease,  and 
might  have  been  healed  by  faith  ;  but  the  healing  by  the  faith  of 
another  puts  it  out  of  the  category  of  natural  cures,  and  into  that 
of  Christ's  divine  authority  and  power. 

7.  /  will  come.     Except  in  this  case,  and  that  of  the  Syrophce- 


St.  MATTHEW  VIII.  8-11  69 

8  him.     And  the  centurion  answered  and  said,  '  Gr.  . 

sufficient. 

Lord,  I  am  not  'worthy  that  thou  shouldest  •  Gr.  wit/t 
come  under  my  roof :  but  only  say  2  the  word,  3  0r  boy 

9  and  my  3  servant  shall  be  healed.     For  I  also  *  So.m% 

J  ancient 

am  a  man  4  under  authority,  having  under  my-  authorities 

insert  set  • 

self  soldiers  :  and  I  say  to  this  one,  Go,  and  he  a?. •«  Lukc 

*  vn.  8. 

goeth  :  and  to  another,  Come,  and  he  cometh  :  *  Gr.  bond- 

,  .  servant. 

and  to  my  °  servant,  Do  this,  and  he  doeth  it.  6  Many 

10  And  when  Jesus  heard  it,  he  marvelled,  and  authori- 

•  1  1  r  ■>  ties  read 

said  to  them  that  followed,  Verily  I  say  unto   wuhno 

rti  c  1  r  •  1  man  in 

you,  *  I  have  not  found  so  great  faith,  no,  not  Israel 

1 1  in  Israel.     And  I  say  unto  you,  that  many  shall  found  so 
come  from  the  east  and  the  west,  and  shall  7  sit  %tu. 
down  with  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob;  in   recline. 

nician  woman's  daughter,  Christ  always  went  to  the  sick,  or  they 
were  brought  to  Him.  But  the  exceptional  faith  secured  the 
astonishing  result  of  healing  at  a  distance.  How  signal  the  faith 
is,  Christ  shows  in  ver.  10. 

8.  I  am  not  worthy  that.  The  English  is  the  same  as  iii.  n  : 
but  there  we  have  only  the  infinitive,  here  we  have  iVa ;  •  I  am 
not  sufficient,  in  order  that  thou  mayest  come.'  This  is  a  stage  in 
the  process  by  which  iVa  became  in  later  Greek  the  constant  sign 
of  the  infinitive.  But  we  may  let  the  expression  give  its  peculiar 
emphasis  to  this  exclamation  of  deep  humility,  an  emphasis  in- 
creased by  the  prominent  position  of  the  '  my  '.  '  There  is  nothing 
in  me  which  could  bring  thee  under  my  poor  roof;  but  only 
speak  a  word ' — or  according  to  another  reading  :  '  speak  with 
a  word.'  The  inference  from  his  own  position  of  authority  as  a 
centurion,  and  of  subordination  to  the  tribune  or  the  praetor 
above  him,  is  the  noblest  expression  of  faith  in  Christ.  The 
disease  will  own  His  power  as  readily  as  a  soldier  obeys  his 
officer. 

10.  This  delighted  Jesus,  who,  as  Bengel  says,  wondered  only 
at  two  things,  faith  and  unbelief  (Mark  vi.  6).  That  a  Gentile 
should  have  such  faith  in  Him  immediately  opens  to  Him  the  vista 
of  the  future. 

ii,  12.  sons  of  the  kingdom.  Only  Matthew  uses  'kingdom' 
without  further  designation  (cf.  iv.  23,  ix.  35,  xiii.  19,  38, 
xxiv.  14;  Dalman,  Words  of  fesus,  115).  Only  Matthew  connects 
this  grand  vision  with  the  healing  of  the  centurion's  servant. 
Luke  puts  it  after  the  exhortation  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate 


70  St.  MATTHEW  VIII.  12-14 

the  kingdom  of  heaven:  but  the  sons  of  the  is 
kingdom  shall  be  cast  forth  into  the  outer  dark- 
ness :  there  shall  be  the  weeping  and  gnashing 
of  teeth.  And  Jesus  said  unto  the  centurion,  13 
Go  thy  way ;  as  thou  hast  believed;  so  be  it  done 
1  Or,  boy  unto  thee.  And  the  '  servant  was  healed  in  that 
hour. 

And  when  Jesus  was  come  into  Peter's  house,  14 
he  saw  his  wife's  mother  lying  sick  of  a  fever. 


(xiii.  28-30).  Mark  never  introduces  these  missionary  forecasts  ; 
he  represents  that  Petrine  Gospel  which  thought  only  of  the  Jews. 
Matthew,  notwithstanding  the  prevailingly  Jewish  tinge  of  his 
Gospel  (the  imagery  here  is  intensely  Jewish),  always  sees  all 
the  nations,  the  whole  world,  brought  under  the  sway  of  his 
Lord. 

The  Kingdom  of  God  in  the  Jewish  writers  was  figured  as  a  feast, 
at  which  the  meat  would  be  behemoth,  and  the  fish  leviathan 
(Apoc.  of  Baruch  xxix.4  ;  Enoch  Ix.  7-9,  24  ;  2  Esdras  vi.  49-52). 
The  mention  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  shows  that  this  was  in 
Christ's  mind.  But  He  saw  that  faith,  the  great  faculty,  would 
be  rare  in  the  favoured  people,  and  that  it  would  be  men  of  faith 
from  every  race  and  country  who  would  be  the  true  children  of 
faithful  Abraham.  The  darkness,  wailing,  and  gnashing^of  teeth 
are  part  of  the  familiar  Jewish  imagery  of  the  future  world  of 
punishment,  which  was  typified  by  Gehenna. 

13.  The  joy  of  finding  such  faith  diverted  His  attention  from 
the  sufferer,  but  He  quickly  remembered.  In  that  hour  the 
paralytic  was  cured. 

Weizsacker  points  out  how  beautifully  these  two  cures  follow 
on  the  Sermon,  the  one  illustrating  His  fidelity  to  the  Law,  the 
other  His  concern  for  the  Gentile  World. 

14,  15.  Peter's  wife's  mother.  Evidently  (v.  10)  the  preceding 
cure  occurred  far  on  in  the  ministry,  and  not  immediately  after 
His  opening  discourse  ;  Matthew's  arrangement  is  topical,  not 
chronological.  This  third  cure  belonged  apparently  to  the  earliest 
part  of  the  ministry  (Mark  i.  32;  Luke  iv.  38).  He  began  by 
blessing  the  home  of  His  disciple.  To  bring  joy  to  the  domestic 
circle,  and  start  His  Gospel  from  that  obscure  centre,  is  t3rpical  of 
the  Son  of  Man. 

14.  sick  of  a  fever.  Luke  (iv.  38),  with  a  doctor's  accuracy,  says 
it  was  'a  great  fever',  to  distinguish  it  from  the  malarial feverish- 
ness  which  is  not  very  serious,  and  also  he  observes  how  the 
Healer  '  stood  over  '  the  sufferer.     The  woman  was  so  completely 


St.  MATTHEW  VIII.   15-19  71 

15  And  he  touched  her  hand,  and  the  fever  left 
her ;  and  she  arose,  and  ministered  unto  him. 

16  And  when  even  was  come,  they  brought  unto 

him  many  1  possessed  with  devils  :  and  he  cast  '  0r>  .*■ 
out  the  spirits  with  a  word,  and  healed  all  that 
j  7  were  sick  :  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was 

spoken  2  by  Isaiah  the  prophet,  saying,  Himself  through 
took  our  infirmities,  and  bare  our  diseases. 

18  Now  when  Jesus  saw  great  multitudes  about 
him,  he  gave  commandment  to  depart  unto  the 

19  other  side.     And  there  came  3a  scribe,  and  said  scribe."* 

recovered,  that  no  weakness  remained  ;  she  was  able  at  once  to 
serve  at  the  table.  When  Christ  subdues  the  fever  of  sin  in  the 
soul,  the  soul  is  prepared  at  once  for  ministry. 

16.  The  evening  healing,  quoted  from  Mark  i.  32,  though  here 
it  is  a  little  later.  Up  to  the  last  Jesus  heals,  as  the  sun  sets 
(Mark),  when  the  night  has  fallen  (Matthew).  In  Mark,  they 
brought  all,  and  some  were  cured  :  in  Matthew,  they  bring  manj', 
and  all  were  cured.  The  crowd  was  due  to  the  great  cure  of  the 
demoniac  that  day  (Mark  i.  21-8.) 

17.  Did  He  take  our  sins  and  bear  them  in  the  same  way  as  He 
took  the  infirmities  and  bore  the  diseases  ? 

viii.  18-34.  The  Son  of  Man  homeless  and  rejected. 

18-22.  In  St.  Luke  this  "episode,  of  the  disciples  deterred  from 
following,  is  placed,  with  three  instances  instead  of  two,  in 
connexion,  not  with  the  crossing  to  Gerasa  (Luke  viii.  22-39% 
but  with  the  start  on  the  journey  to  Jerusalem  (Luke  ix.  57-62). 
The  occasion  was  when  Jesus  had  left  His  home  at  Capernaum, 
and  in  the  prosecution  of  His  missionary  enterprise  was  home- 
less. Note  that  verses- 19-22  are  inserted  ;  the  narrative  goes 
on  from  ver.  18  to  ver.  23.  But  Matthew's  arrangement,  inserting 
the  offer  of  the  scribe,  and  the  call  of  the  man  who  would  bury 
his  father,  just  before  the  stilling  of  the  storm  on  the  lake,  and 
the  rejection  from  Gerasa,  brings  out  as  the  dominant  idea  of  the 
whole  passage  the  Loneliness  of  Jesus.  He  is  homeless  and  un- 
companioned  (ver.  18-22)  ;  the  solitude  is  awful  (ver.  23-7)  and 
mysterious  (ver.  28-34).  ^e  Is  alone,  and  yet  not  alone,  for  His 
Father  is  with  Him. 

18.  The  solitude  of  Jesus  is  of  the  kind  which  is  emphasized  by 
the  presence  of  a  multitude.  See  John  vi.  16-21  :  evidently  Jesus 
took  these  quiet  excursions  on  the  lakes  in  order  to  escape  the 
pressure  which  His  work  occasioned  on  the  shore. 

19.  a  scribe.    It  is  actually  '  one  scribe  ',  but  in  Hellenistic  Greek 


72  St.  MATTHEW  VIII.  20,  21 

1  Or,  unto  him,  *  Master,  I  will  follow  thee  whither- 

Teacher 

soever  thou  goest.     And  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  20 
The  foxes  have   holes,  and   the  birds  of  the 
"  Gr.  heaven  have  2  nests ;  but  the  Son  of  man  hath 

piactsf'     not  where  to  lay  his  head.     And  another  of  the  21 
disciples  said  unto  him,  Lord,  suffer  me  first  to 


'one'  was  used  for  'a'  (Moulton's  Grammar,  p.  96).  Though 
one  of  the  official  and  teaching  class,  he  had  so  far  recognized 
Jesus  as  to  address  Him  as  '  Teacher '  (so  rightly  margin  of  R.  V.). 
It  is  a  great  confession  for  the  Scribe  to  give  Him  that  appella- 
tion ;  and  the  enthusiastic  promise  to  follow  Him  anywhere  might 
have  been  very  pleasing  to  Him.  But  He  knew  what  was  in  the 
man  ;  He  repressed  the  fervent  offer  by  the  pathetic  statement 
that  He  had  no  lodging  to  offer  him. 

20.  nests  :  roosts,  the  verb  in  xiii.  32. 

the  Son  of  man.  Here  occurs  for  the  first  time  the  designa- 
tion which  Jesus  chose  for  Himself  (in  Mark  for  the  first  time 
ii.  10,  in  Luke  v.  24).  It  has  been  maintained  that  it  is  (1)  the 
Aramaic  phrase  for  'man';  (2)  a  term  indicating  the  frailty  of 
humanity  ;  cf.  the  application  of  it  to  Ezekiel ;  (3)  an  implied  claim 
to  Messiahship,  referring  to  Dan.  vii.  13,  and  the  use  of  the  term 
in  certain  Apocalyptic  literature.  It  will  be  noted  that  in  different 
places  Jesus  uses  the  title  with  one  or  other  of  these  implications, 
as  the  occasion  suits.  Here  He  is  thinking  of  the  second 
meaning ;  the  Son  of  Man  is  homeless  ;  His  earthly  state  is 
pitiable.  The  wild  beasts  and  birds  have  their  resting-places  in 
the  earth,  but  He  is  a  pilgrim  and  a  stranger.  It  has  been  said 
that  '  philosophy  is  home-sickness  ' ;  the  pathos  of  man's  condition 
is,  that  he  thinks,  and  immediately  he  finds  himself  in  a  desert, 
and  far  from  home.  In  Mark  and  Luke,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
term  is  first  used  in  declaring  that  the  Son  of  Man  has  power  on 
earth  to  forgive  sins. 

Apparently  the  Scribe  turned  away  from  the  homeless  Teacher. 

21.  The  Scribe  was  one  of  His  disciples  (save  the  mark!). 
Another  wished  to  follow  Him — in  time  ;  but  for  the  present  he 
proposed  to  wait  until  his  father  died,  that  he  might  perform  the 
last  act  of  filial  duty.  How  specious  that  seemed  !  The  Lord's 
answer  sounds  stern,  but  while  the  shell  is  hard,  the  kernel  is 
soft  and  sweet.  Using  the  word  '  dead '  in  a  double  sense,  He 
says  that  those  who  are  not  spiritually  awakened  will  tend  the 
old  man  in  his  closing  days,  but  this  disciple  was  spiritually 
awakened  and  was  capable  of  preaching  the  Gospel  (see  Luke 
ix.  60).  For  him,  therefore,  a  higher  duty  superseded  the  lower. 
Thus  Christ  meets  the  excuses  which  have  kept  so  many  from 
going  out  to  the  mission  field  :  cf.  Elisha  in  1  Kings  xix.  19. 


St.  MATTHEW  VIII.  22-27  73 

22  go  and  bury  my  father.  But  Jesus  saith  unto 
him,  Follow  me ;  and  leave  the  dead  to  bury 
their  own  dead. 

23  And  when  he  was  entered  into  a  boat,  his 

24  disciples  followed  him.  And  behold,  there  arose 
a  great  tempest  in  the  sea,  insomuch  that  the 
boat  was  covered  with  the  waves  :  but  he  was 

2$  asleep.    And  they  came  to  him,  and  awoke  him, 

26  saying,  Save,  Lord ;  we  perish.  And  he  saith 
unto  them,  Why  are  ye  fearful,  O  ye  of  little 
faith  ?     Then  he  arose,  and  rebuked  the  winds 

27  and  the  sea ;  and  there  was  a  great  calm.  And 
the  men  marvelled,  saying,  What  manner  of  man 

23-7.  The  awful  detachment  from  human  companionship  in 
the  storm. 

23.  his  disciples  followed  him  :  in  body  but  not  in  spirit. 

24.  and  behold  :  see  ver.  2. 

a  tempest.  Lit.  an  earthquake,  a  very  strong  term,  not  as  in 
Luke  (viii.  23)  a  mere  gust  of  wind  such  as  often  falls  on  a  lake 
shut  in  by  mountains.  This  description  of  the  ship's  peril  is  strong 
too  ;  the  ship  disappeared  in  the  waves. 

but  he  was  asleep.  In  Mark  the  journey  occurs  after  the 
parables  not  recorded  in  Matthew  till  ch.  13.  If  Matthew's  con- 
nexion is  followed,  it  seems  from  the  answers  given  in  ver.  18-22, 
that  the  Lord  was  under  great  tension.  He  was  tired  out,  and 
slept  in  the  storm.  It  has  been  observed  that  a  storm  is  a  lullaby 
to  a  great  spirit ;  and  His  was  the  courage  of  faith. 

25.  The  disciples  were  different.  They  had  little  faith,  and 
were  therefore  cowards.  Their  waking  Him  showed  that  they 
had  little  faith  in  Him,  as  His  serene  slumber  showed  that  He 
had  perfect  faith  in  God. 

Lord:  in  Luke  viii.  24,  Master  ;  in  Mark  iv.  38,  Teacher. 

26.  fearful.  So  John  xiv.  27  ;  '  cowardly '  is  a  closer  translation. 
Jesus  always  marvelled  at  their  little  faith  (vi.  30).  The  rebuke, 
as  given  in  Markiv.  39,  is  most  majestic  and  striking — '  Silence,  be 
muzzled  ! '  The  miracle  is  recorded  in  the  most  impressive 
simplicity  of  statement,  without  explanation  or  apology.  Bengel's 
pregnant  remark  should  be  remembered  :  '  He  calmed  first  His 
disciples'  minds,  and  then  the  sea.' 

27.  the  men  marvelled;  in  Mark  'disciples'.  Does  it  mean 
i  men '  generally,  wherever  the  story  was  told  ?  '  What  manner 
of  being  (not  man)  is  this  ? '  Troranos,  cf.  Ps.  lxxxix.  9,  xciii.  4. 


74  St.  MATTHEW  VIII.  28 

is  this,  that  even  the  winds  and  the  sea  obey 
him? 

And  when  he  was  come  to  the  other  side  into  28 
the  country  of  the  Gadarenes,  there  met  him  two 
1  Or,  de-     x  possessed  with  devils,  coming  forth  out  of  the 

moniacs  _  .  ,  . 

tombs,  exceeding  fierce,  so  that  no  man  could 

28-34.  The  land  which  asked  Jesus  to  depart  from  it. 

The  narrative  is  given  with  more  fullness  in  Mark,  whose 
twenty  verses  (v.  1-20)  are  here  compressed  into  seven.  The 
details,  as  the  variations  show,  are  quite  immaterial.  Mark's 
name  for  the  place  is  Gerasa,  not  Gadara,  which  was  not  near 
the  shore  ;  and  we  may  identify  the  spot  with  Khersa,  where  the 
cliff  is  steep.  Matthew  oddly  says  there  were  two  demoniacs, 
evidently  influenced  by  the  plural  voice  of  the  sufferer,  saying, 
we  are  Legion.  Demoniac  possession  is  met  with  in  China ;  in 
the  life  of  Pastor  Hsi,  for  example,  there  are  episodes  which 
closely  resemble  this  narrative.  Insanity  takes  the  form  of 
a  double  consciousness,  and  the  sufferer  believes  that  he  is 
possessed  by  a  demon.  To  help  the  sufferer  it  is  necessary  to 
humour  the  illusion,  and  to  address  the  indwelling  spirit  that 
obsesses  him  as  a  person.  If  our  Lord  had  all  the  knowledge 
which  modern  medical  science  has  on  the  subject  He  might  still, 
for  curative  purposes,  have  used  exactly  the  language  which  is 
recorded  here.  The  destruction  of  the  swine  has  been  ridiculed  by 
Huxley  and  his  followers,  and  has  been  made  hardly  less 
ridiculous  by  certain  well-meaning  apologists  ;  Wetstein,  e.  g., 
perhaps  sardonically,  suggests  that  the  drowned  swine  might 
have  been  salted  and  sold  to  the  Gentiles,  and  so  the  owners 
would  have  been  recouped  !  Our  evangelist  does  not  countenance 
Mark's  statement,  '  He  gave  them  leave  to  enter  into  the  swine,' 
but  reports  the  word  of  Jesus  as  'go',  i.e.  'begone'.  But  the 
consent  of  the  evangelists  shows  that  the  stampede  of  the  herd  of 
swine  was  in  the  popular  judgement  connected  with  the  cure  of 
the  demoniac.  His  wild  cries  suggested  that  the  swine  should 
plunge  down  the  precipice,  and  may  even  have  caused  the  panic 
which  produced  the  catastrophe.  But  these  difficulties  are  put  in 
a  false  perspective.  Read  by  an  impartial  mind  in  any  of  the 
evangelists  the  narrative  produces  only  one  overwhelming  effect — 
a  sense  of  the  mercy,  the  majesty,  the  meekness,  of  Jesus  ;  who, 
lonely  and  homeless  Himself,  after  rejecting  a  learned  scribe, 
turned  all  his  attention  to  a  houseless  and  dangerous  maniac, 
healed  him  by  the  divine  power  that  resided  in  His  own 
Personality,  and  then  without  resentment  or  censure  withdrew 
at  the  request  of  the  misguided  people. 

28.  no  man  could  pass  that  way.     Lit.  had  power  to  pass  that 


St.  MATTHEW  VIII.  29-31  75 

29  pass  by  that  way.  And  behold,  they  cried  out, 
saying,  What  have  we  to  do  with  thee,  thou  Son 
of  God  ?  art  thou  come  hither  to  torment  us 

30  before  the  time  ?     Now  there  was  afar  off  from 

31  them  a  herd  of  many  swine  feeding.     And  the 


way.  The  maniac  was  strong  enough  to  overpower  any  ordinary 
man,  and  fell  upon  a  passer-by  with  the  fierceness  of  a  wild  beast. 

29.  thou  Son  of  God.  That  the  first  confession  of  Christ's 
divinity  should  come  from  a  disordered  mind  (in  which  all  the 
Synoptists  agree)  is  a  stumbling-block.  But  the  mystery  of 
insanity  is  that  it  is  often  accompanied  by  an  abnormal  insight. 
Later  on  the  disciples  reached  the  same  conclusion,  and  used  the 
same  address  (xiv.  33).  It  is  true  we  must  step  cautiously  in 
estimating  the.  testimony  of  the  insane.  No  wise  man  would  base 
the  truth  of  Christ's  Divine  Sonship  on  this  admission.  We  hail 
Him  Son  of  God  for  reasons,  ethical  and  religious,  which  are 
perfectly  independent  of  this  passage.  But  it  is  possible  that 
we  have  a  glimpse  into  that  invisible  spiritual  world,  of  which 
we  know  so  little  :  there  are  principalities  and  powers,  spiritual 
personalities,  working  for  evil  and  against  Christ.  They  know 
Him,  who  He  is,  while  it  is  their  great  concern  to  darken  our 
human  minds,  and  prevent  us  from  recognizing  Him  (Eph.  vi.  12). 
These  evil  spirits  will  be  vanquished  :  their  time  is  relatively  short 
(Rev.  xii.  12). 

30.  The  number  of  the  swine  in  Mark  is  2.000,  and  they  are 
not,  as  here,  '  far  off,'  but  on  '  the  mountain-side '.  There  is  no 
inconsistency,  but  there  is  a  variation. 

The  destruction  of  property  arouses  the  indignation,  not  only 
of  the  owners,  but  of  the  whole  people,  as  Luke  puts  it.  The 
desire  for  Jesus  to  depart  was  unanimous  and  decisive.  He 
yielded  to  the  wish,  because  it  is  not  His  way  to  force  Himself 
on  those  who  do  not  "want  Him.  In  a  sense  it  is  only  too 
easy  to  get  rid  of  Him.  He  has  no  ambition,  no  personal  end 
to  serve  in  saving  men  ;  He  wants  their  hearts,  and  to  save 
them  without  their  choice  would  not  be  to  save  them  in  His 
sense  at  all.  This  is  the  secret  of  His  loneliness  in  the  world, 
that  when  men  see  Him,  few  desire  Him  ;  of  those  who  would 
follow  Him,  many  are  discouraged  b}'  the  least  difficulty.  Even 
when  He  heals  and  saves,  men  are  shy  of  Him,  and  if  His 
presence  affects  their  property,  they  will  bid  Him  depart. 

Matthew  does  not  tell  us  the  comforting  detail  given  elsewhere 
(Mark  v.  19),  that  the  healed  man  was  so  grateful  that  he  wished 
to  follow  his  Healer,  but  was  commanded  to  remain  as  a  witness 
to  Jesus  among  his  friends  ;  and  he  became  a  missionary  through 
the  whole  region  of  the  Ten  Cities. 


7.6  St.  MATTHEW  VIII.  32— IX.  2 

iQr.  i  devils  besought  him,  saying,  If  thou  cast  us 

out,  send  us  away  into  the  herd  of  swine.  And  32 
he  said  unto  them,  Go.  And  they  came  out, 
and  went  into  the  swine  :  and  behold,  the  whole 
herd  rushed  down  the  steep  into  the  sea,  and 
perished  in  the  waters.  And  they  that  fed  them  33 
fled,  and  went  away  into  the  city,  and  told  every- 
thing, and  what  was  befallen  to  them  that  were 

2  Or,  de-     2  possessed  with  devils.   And  behold,  all  the  city  34 
came  out  to  meet  Jesus :  and  when  they  saw 
him,  they  besought  him  that  he  would  depart 
from  their  borders. 

And  he  entered  into  a  boat,  and  crossed  over,  9 
and  came  into  his  own  city.     And  behold,  they  3 

Ch.  ix.    1-17.  The  bridal  joy  of  the  healing  ministry. 

This  paragraph  (Mark  ii.  3-12  ;  Luke  v.  18-26)  is  replete  with  joy. 
It  is  leading  up  to  the  crown  of  His  beneficent  work.  Jesus  appears 
as  the  Bridegroom,  in  whose  presence  the  whole  wedding  party 
must  rejoice.  Though  a  season  of  sadness  is  foreshadowed,  and 
the  invidious  vigilance  of  the  Pharisees  portends  hostility  and  per- 
secution, for  the  moment  the  planet  of  love  is  on  high  ;  the  religion 
of  joy  has  come,  and  the  exquisite  light  of  Heaven  breaks  over  the 

earth  :  . 

Light  of  the  intellect  replete  with  love, 

Love  of  true  good  replete  with  perfect  bliss, 

Bliss  that  doth  far  above  all  sweetness  prove. 

This  exquisite  movement  introduces  the  phases  of  the  palsied 
man  forgiven,  the  call  of  Matthew  the  publican,  the  physician's 
festal  reception  of  the  sinners,  and  the  justification  of  the  joy  as 
suitable  to  the  changed  conditions.  It  will  be  obvious  how  the 
healing  is  the  outward  symbol  of  a  spiritual  grace. 

1-8.  The  palsied  man.  In  Mark  (ii.  1-12)  this  healing  comes  at 
once  after  the  healing  of  the  leper  ;  Luke  (v.  17-26)  follows  Mark. 
Matthew,  for  reasons  of  his  own  (v.  Allen,  p.  86)  places  this  cure 
after  the  return  from  Gerasa  ;  but  the  effect  of  the  arrangement  is 
to  suggest  that  Christ  can  not  only  cure  the  leper,  who  was  con- 
sidered incurable,  and  the  demoniac  who  was  the  terror  of  the 
country-side,  but  rouse  into  activity  one  who  is  actually  paralysed, 
even  when,  as  seems  to  be  implied,  the  paralysis  has  been 
produced  by  sin ;  He  can  forgive  and  heal. 

1.  his  own  city,  sc.  Capernaum  (iv.  13).     The  other  account  in 


ST.  MATTHEW  IX.   3-5  77 

brought  to  him  a  man  sick  of  the  palsy,  lying 
on  a  bed  :  and  Jesus  seeing  their  faith  said  unto 
the  sick  of  the  palsy,  *  Son,  be  of  good  cheer ;  '  Gr. 

3  thy  sins  are  forgiven.     And  behold,  certain  of 
the  scribes  said  within  themselves,  This  man 

4  blasphemeth.  And  Jesus  2kno\ving  their  thoughts  2  Many 

•  i      tiTi  r  1  •    1  -i     •  ancient 

said,  Wherefore  think  ye  evil   in  your  hearts  ?  authorities 

read 

5  For  whether  is  easier,  to  say,  Thy  sins  are  for-  seeing. 

Mark  and  Luke  places  the  cure  just  after  returning  to  Capernaum 
from  an  excursion. 

2.  And  behold  (viii.  2). 

sick  of  the  palsy,  i.  e.  paralytic  ;  the  creeping  paralysis  which  is 
often  the  dread  result  of  sensual  excesses. 

seehig  their  faith.  We  understand  better  the  faith  of  the 
bearers  by  reading  the  more  detailed  account  in  Mark  and  Luke. 

sou.  Rather  '  child ',  probably  little  more  than  a  bo}\ 
Jesus  reads  at  once  the  profound  depression,  and  hopelessness, 
which  comes  with  the  disease  ;  and  meets  him  with  the  word  of 
cheer  (cf.  ver.  22).  Forgiveness  is  the  Law  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God.  He  proclaims  it,  not  as  the  result  of  His  own  saving  work,  but 
rather  as  the  purpose  of  Divine  grace,  which  devised  and  carried 
out  that  saving  work.  The  disease  and  the  sin  are  focussed  as 
one  ;  perhaps  in  this  instance  they  were  related  as  effect  and 
cause  ;  but  in  every  instance  the  disease  is  the  outward  and  visible 
sign  of  the  inward  and  spiritual  fault. 

The  amazing  feature  of  the  pronouncement  is,  that  He  declares 
the  man's  sins  to  be  forgiven  on  the  ground  of  the  faith  of  the 
friends  who  brought  him. 

3.  the  scribes.  See  Luke  v.  17  ;  they  had  come  to  watch  Him, 
not  perhaps  very  sympathetically.  But  they  were  genuinel}' 
scandalized  by  this  assumption  of  authority.  It  was  a  Divine 
prerogative  claimed  by  Jesus,  Isa.  xliii.  25 ;  Mic.  vii.  18 ; 
Exod.  xxxiv.  6,  7.  If  Jesus  was  merely  a  man,  they  were  right 
in  saying  'He  blasphemes  '. 

4.  He  sees  or  reads  their  thoughts  :  because  He  is  the  Word 
of  God  (Heb.  iv.  12). 

5.  whether  is  easier?  It  was  easy  enough  to  say  'Thy  sins 
are  forgiven  thee',  but  to  know  that  they  were  forgiven  was 
hard.  On  the  other  hand,  to  say  '  Arise  and  walk  '  was  difficult, 
for  every  one  could  at  once  see  whether  the  result  followed.  If, 
therefore,  the  hard  fact  of  restoring  the  paralytic  came  from  the 
word  'Arise',  that  would  be  some  evidence  that  the  invisible 
result  of  pardon  came  from  the  apparently  easy  word  of  forgive- 
ness.   '  He  makes  the  visible  power  a  testimony  of  the  invisible  ', 


78  St.  MATTHEW  IX.  6-9 

given  ;  or  to  say,  Arise,  and  walk  ?    But  that  ye  6 
authority    may  know  that  the  Son  of  man  hath  !  power  on 
earth  to  forgive  sins  (then  saith  he  to  the  sick  of 
the  palsy),  Arise,  and  take  up  thy  bed,  and  go 
unto  thy  house.    And  he  arose,  and  departed  7 
to  his  house.     But  when  the  multitudes  saw  it,  8 
they  were  afraid,  and  glorified  God,  which  had 
given  such  l  power  unto  men. 

And  as  Jesus  passed  by  from  thence,  he  saw  9 
a  man,  called  Matthew,  sitting  at  the  place  of 
toll :  and  he  saith  unto  him,  Follow  me.     And 
he  arose,  and  followed  him. 


says  Euthymius  Zigabenus.    Here  the  tallying  of  disease  with  sin 
is  expressly  declared. 

6.  The  bed  was  a  reed-mattress.  As  Bengel  puts  it :  '  The 
bed  bore  the  man,  now  the  man  the  bed.'  Might  we  not  also  say 
the  faith  of  the  others  had  brought  him  to  Jesus,  now  his  own 
faith  enabled  him  to  go  home  ? 

8.  were  afraid  (Luke  vii.  16).  A  manifestation  of  Divine  power, 
even  when  it  is  beneficent,  thrills  our  hearts  with  fear. 

such  power  unto  men.  The  multitude  understood  the  title 
'  Son  of  Man  '  as  the  admission  of  human  infirmity ;  they  had 
not  yet  learnt  its  meaning  as  a  Messianic  claim  (ver.  26).  Dalman, 
Words  of  Jesus,  254. 

9-13.  The  Physician  seeks  the  sick  :  first  Matthew  and  then 
his  fellow  publicans. 

9.  Matthew,  in  Mark  and  Luke  called  Levi,  the  son  of  Alphaeus 
(Mark  ii.  14).  He  was  a  sinner,  he  was  sick,  and  the  Physician  saw 
him  and  said  unto  his  dead  soul  '  Live ' — as  Jacob  Behmen  records 
of  his  own  similar  experience.  Matthew  obeyed,  unlike  the 
precipitate  disciples  in  viii.  18-22. 

The  place  of  toll.  It  was  on  the  shore,  we  are  told  else- 
where. Capernaum  was  a  busy  centre  where  the  great  trunk 
roads  running  north  and  south  and  east  and  west  crossed.  But 
the  lake  shore  was  also  a  frontier  ;  the  other  side,  Decapolis, 
did  not  belong  to  Herod  Antipas.  Duties  were  therefore  collected 
on  everything  that  was  brought  to  the  quays.  The  collector  of 
taxes  was  called  to  be  a  fisher  of  men.  And  it  is  evident  that 
he  was  an  example  of  the  sinners  whom  Jesus  came  to  save.  A 
Chinese  convert  employed  as  an  evangelist  was  offered  a  place 
in  the  customs  at  double  the  salary  that  he  was   receiving.     He 


St.  MATTHEW  IX.   10-13  79 

10      And  it  came  to  pass,  as  he  ]  sat  at  meat  in  '  Gr. 

.  reclined: 

the  house,  behold,  many  publicans  and  sinners  and  so 

•  it  •  •  alwaj's. 

came  and  sat  down  with  Jesus  and  his  disciples. 
ii  And  when  the  Pharisees  saw  it,  thev  said  unto 
his  disciples,  Why  eateth  your  2  Master  with  the  2  Or. 

r       '         .  J  J  Teacher 

12  publicans  and  sinners?  But  when  he  heard  it, 
he  said,  They  that  are  3  whole  have  no  need  of  3  Gr- 

strong. 

'3  a  physician,  but  they  that  are  sick.  But  go  ye 
and  learn  what  this  meaneth,  I  desire  mercy, 
and  not  sacrifice :  for  I  came  not  to  call  the 
righteous,  but  sinners. 

replied  :  '  Matthew  left  the  receipt  of  customs  to  seek  men  ;  shall 
I  leave  the  seeking  of  men  to  sit  at  the  receipt  of  customs? ' 

io.  Through  Matthew  Jesus  was  introduced  to  the  whole  circle 
of  the  publicans,  and  the  people  who  were  regarded  as  outcasts  by 
Jewish  orthodoxy.  It  was  a  company  of  what  in  India  would  be 
called  Pariahs  that  gathered  now  in  the  house.  Mark  says  it  was 
Matthew's  house.  Does  Matthew  withhold  this  fact  out  of 
modesty  ?  We  are  to  think  perhaps  of  the  courtyard  of  the  house 
filled  with  the  unorthodox  company  ;  and  the  scandal  would  be 
patent.  But  they  who  are  too  anxious  to  conciliate  the  prejudices 
of  the  present  do  nothing  for  the  future,  as  Dr.  Bruce  says.  And 
Jesus  was  quite  ready  to  justify  His  unconventional  conduct. 

ii.  Master.  Teacher,  in  the  Greek,  your  Rabbi,  in  Aramaic 
(Dalman,  p.  338). 

12.  Jesus  expressly  declares  that  He  is  the  Physician  and  the 
Saviour.  The  meaning  of  the  healing  becomes  apparent.  He 
wishes  to  show  that  just  as  He  could  raise  up  the  paralytic,  so  He 
could  forgive  and  cure  the  sinful.  He  taught  by  an  acted  parable. 
He  manifested  God  who  '  healeth  all  our  diseases  and  forgiveth 
all  our  iniquities'  (Ps.  ciii.  3). 

13.  The  orthodoxy  of  the  day  had  no  conception  of  the  Holy 
love  which  seeks  the  sinful  to  make  them  good.  It  prided  itself 
on  its  own  virtue,  and  used  the  wicked  to  exalt  its  own 
righteousness.  It  did  not  know  '  mercy '  in  the  prophet's  deep 
sense  of  the  word,  i.  e.  the  pitying  love  which  seeks  to  save. 
Jesus  quotes  Hos.  vi.  6,  which  was  a  favourite  text  of  His  (xii.  7  : 
cf.  xxiii.  23).  Then  comes  the  great  utterance  which  is  all  His 
own.  In  the  Bible  Society's  report  for  1904  (p.  208)  is  an  account 
of  a  convert  in  Mahoba  (North  India),  who  as  a  lad  received  a  Gospel 
of  St.  Matthew.  For  twelve  years  he  read  it  day  by  day  until  its 
message  was  borne  in  upon  his  soul,  that  Jesus  is  indeed  the 
Saviour  of  all  men.     When  the  missionary  who  gave  him   the 


80  St.  MATTHEW  IX.   14-16 

Then  come  to  him   the  disciples  of  John,  14 
1  Some       saying,  Why  do  we  and  the  Pharisees  fast  '  oft, 
authorities  Dut  tnY  disciples  fast  not?   And  Jesus  said  unto  T5 
omit  oft.     j-hejj^  £an  the  Sons  of  the  bride-chamber  mourn, 
as  long  as  the  bridegroom  is  with  them  ?  but  the 
days  will  come,  when  the  bridegroom  shall  be 
taken  away  from  them,  and  then  will  they  fast. 
And  no  man  putteth  a  piece  of  undressed  cloth  *6 


Gospel  returned  to  the  village  he  confessed  that  Jesus  is  the 
World's  Redeemer,  and  at  once  yielded  himself  to  His  claims.  The 
saying  in  this  verse  is  enough  to  save  the  world. 

but  sinners.  The  words  '  to  repentance  '  were  inserted  in 
some  MSS.  from  Luke,  but  the  calling  here  is  rather  the  beautiful 
invitation  to  His  board. 

14-17.  Fasting  inappropriate  in  the  bridechamber.  In  Mark 
ii.  18  and  Luke  v.  33,  the  question  seems  put  by  the  Pharisees.  But  in 
respect  of  fasting  the  disciples  of  John  the  Baptist  and  the  Pharisees 
occupied  the  same  position.  Fasting  was  a  regular  and  necessary 
part  of  the  religious  life :  it  was  a  token  of  penitence  ;  it  was  also 
an  instrument  for  subduing  the  evil  tendencies  of  nature  ;  and  in 
either  case  it  was  a  confession  of  a  forlorn  and  dubious  position, 
the  effort  of  the  soul  to  win  acceptance  with  God.  Fasting  is  an 
institution  of  the  Law  and  not  of  the  Gospel,  of  Righteousness 
rather  than  of  Grace. 

15.  Jesus  abolishes  Fasting  because  the  Religion  of  Joy  has 
come.  The  Gospel  is  the  good  news  of  a  free  pardon  and  of  a 
preserving  grace,  of  earth  vanquished  and  of  Heaven  secured  ; 
even  death  is  abolished,  and  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  open  to  all 
believers.  While  Christ  the  Bridegroom  is  with  us,  fasting  must 
not  stain  the  festal  joy. 

sons  of  the  bridechamber.  The  wedding  guests  :  cf.  for  the 
Hebrew  phrase  Luke  xvi.  8. 

then  shall  they  fast.  When  were  the  days  of  the  absence  of 
the  Bridegroom?  (Luke  xvii.  22).  Were  they  the  days  following 
the  Crucifixion  ?  Hardly,  for  that  sorrow  was  immediately 
turned  into  joy  (John  xvi.  20).  He  can  only  refer  to  the  false 
teaching  of  the  Church,  which  has  taken  away  the  Bridegroom, 
and  restored  the  fasting  and  gloom  of  the  older  dispensation. 
But  He  is  with  those  who  will  have  Him  all  the  days  (xxviii.  20), 
and  for  them  fasting  is  inappropriate. 

16.  Unfulled  or  undressed  cloth  shrinks  when  wetted,  and  tears 
the  old  piece  to  which  it  is  sewn.  You  cannot  combine  the 
penitential  religion  of  the  Law  with  that  of  Jesus. 


St.  MATTHEW  IX.  17-20  81 

upon  an  old  garment ;  for  that  which  should  fill 
it  up  taketh  from  the  garment,  and  a  worse  rent 

1 7  is  made.     Neither  do  men  put  new  wine  into 

old  !  wine-skins :  else  the  skins  burst,  and  the  1  rThat  is< 

skins  used 

wine  is  spilled,  and  the  skins  perish  :  but  they  «*  bottles. 
put  new  wine  into  fresh  wine-skins,  and  both  are 
preserved. 

1 8  While  he  spake  these  things  unto  them,  be- 
hold, there  came  2  a  ruler,  and  worshipped  him,  2  Gr.  one 

.  ruler. 

saying,  My  daughter  is  even  now  dead :  but 
come  and  lay  thy  hand  upon  her,  and  she  shall 

19  live.     And  Jesus  arose,  and  followed  him,  and 

20  so  did  his  disciples.  And  behold,  a  woman,  who 
had  an  issue  of  blood  twelve  years,  came  behind 
him,  and  touched  the  border  of  his  garment : 

17.  The  religion  of  the  Divine  Father,  of  Grace  and  Atoning 
Love,  of  Forgiveness  and  the  cleansed  heart,  of  the  filling  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  is  like  new  wine,  and  at  your  peril  do  you  confine 
it  in  the  antiquated  bottles  of  the  past.  i  The  mongrel  mixture  of 
the  ascetic  ritualism  of  the  old  with  the  spiritual  freedom  of  the 
new  economy'  (David  Brown)  is  condemned  by  anticipation. 

ix.  18-37.     Climax  and  Summary  of  the  Ministry  of  Teach- 
ing and  Healing. 

18-26.  The  raising  of  Jairus's  daughter  is  the  climax  of  the 
Lord's  healing  power,  and  the  gospel  of  the  Resurrection  which 
it  symbolizes  is  the  climax  of  His  teaching.  In  Mark  (v.  21-43) 
and  in  Luke  (viii.  40-66)  it  is  recorded  just  after  the  return  from 
the  eastern  shore  of  the  lake.  Matthew  places  it  in  its  moral, 
rather  than  its  historical,  order.  All  the  beneficent  work  of  Jesus 
leads  up  to  the  supreme  miracle  of  raising  the  dead. 

18.  a  ruler.  'One  ruler'  (see  on  viii.  19).  He  was  an  excep- 
tion, as  the  question  in  John  vii.  48  shows  :  '  Hath  any  of  the 
rulers  believed  on  Him  ? ' 

dead.     In  Mark  and  Luke  '  dying  '. 

19.  arose,  sc.  from  the  table  (ver.  10).  See  how  the  chequered 
scenes  follow  each  other  in  the  life  of  the  Son  of  Man,  as  in  all 
human  life  :  Feasting  (ver.  10-13),  Fasting  (ver.  14-17),  Dying 
(ver.  18),  Resurrection  (ver.  25). 

20.  A  woman  with  an  issue  of  blood  touched  Him  ;  that  touch, 
according  to  the  Law,  was  defilement. 

the  border  of  his  garment.     From  Num.  xv.  38  it  will  be  seen 

G 


82  St.  MATTHEW  IX.  21-24 

for  she  said  within  herself,  If  I  do  but  touch  his  21 
1  Or,  saved  garment,  I  shall  be  ^ade  whole.     But  Jesus  22 

turning  and  seeing  her  said,  Daughter,  be  of 
*  Or,  saved  good  cheer ;  thy  faith  hath  2made  thee  whole. 
And  the  woman  was  Jmade  whole  from  that 
hour.  And  when  Jesus  came  into  the  ruler's  23 
house,  and  saw  the  flute-players,  and  the  crowd 
making  a  tumult,  he  said,  Give  place :  for  the  24 
damsel  is  not  dead,  but  sleepeth.     And  they 

that  the  tassels,  which  were  the  reminders  to  every  Israelite  of 
the  commandments  of  the  Law,  are  meant.  Though  it  was  only 
the  outermost  partof(His  person  she  touched,  yet  it  was  a  very 
significant  part.  In  Jesus  at  least  the  keeping  of  the  divine 
commandments  was  a  tender  spot. 

si.  This  is  evidently  self-revelation  ;  thus  she  described  the 
experience  afterwards. 

22.  Matthew  condenses  the  story.  But  he  does  not  omit  the 
exquisite  word  of  encouragement,  as  in  ver.  2.  To  the  timorous 
woman,  as  to  the  helpless  paralytic,  His  first  word  is  '  Courage  '. 
To  her  also  He  can  add  what  He  could  not  to  the  paralytic  :  '  Thy 
faith  hath  made  thee  whole  '  (Luke  viii.  48).  It  is  a  saying  which 
was  always  on  His  lips  (cf.  Luke  vii.  50,  xvii.  19,  xviii.  42).  Paul 
learnt  it  from  his  Master  (Acts  xiv.  9).  It  became  a  cardinal 
doctrine  of  Christianity  (Heb.  iv.  2). 

made  whole,  or  '  saved '.  The  double  meaning  of  the  word 
admirably  covers  the  physical  symbol  and  the  spiritual  reality. 
The  pitiable  state  of  a  sinner  is  hinted  at  in  those  twelve  years  of 
searching  for  a  physician  ;  for  Old  Testament  descriptions  of  that 
state  cf.  Ezek.  xvi.  5,  6 ;  Hos.  v.  13. 

23.  The  narrative  now  moves  on  to  the  house  of  Jairus.  There 
already  a  crowd  of  mourners  has  gathered.  All  was  very  con- 
ventional :  professional  mourners  (Latin,  praeficae)  were  hired,  to 
chant  dirges  (Jer.  ix.  17).  Two  flutes  and  one  mourning  woman 
were  incumbent  at  the  burial  of  a  wife,  even  of  the  poorest  man. 
In  Rome  the  number  of  flute-players  at  a  funeral  was  by  the 
Twelve  Tables  limited  to  twelve,  a  check  upon  the  luxury  of  woe. 
Perhaps  Christ's  putting  this  motley  crowd  out  is  an  indication 
that  He  disapproves  the  trappings  of  grief,  and  would  have  us 
bury  our  dead  without  affectation,  in  the  simplicity  of  a  quiet 
faith  and  an  assured  hope. 

24.  but  sleepeth.  This  exactly  tallies  with  the  fuller  narrative 
of  the  raising  of  Lazarus.  What  Jesus  says  is,  not  that  the  maiden 
or  Lazarus  was  not  dead,  but  that  death  is  only  a  sleep.  From 
the  Master's  lips  the  disciple  learned  to  speak  of  the  dead  merely 


St.  MATTHEW  IX.   25-28  83 

*5  laughed  him  to  scorn.  But  when  the  crowd  was 
put  forth,  he  entered  in,  and  took  her  by  the 

*6  hand ;  and  the  damsel  arose.     And  'the  fame  »Gr.M« 
hereof  went  forth  into  all  that  land. 

27  And  as  Jesus  passed  by  from  thence,  two 
blind  men  followed  him,  crying  out,  and  saying, 

a8  Have  mercy  on  us,  thou  son  of  David.  And 
when  he  was  come  into  the  house,  the  blind 
men  came  to  him  :  and  Jesus  saith  unto  them, 
Believe  ye  that  I  am  able  to  do  this?     They 

as  sleeping,  1  Thess.  v.  10,  and  to  describe  their  resting-place  as 
a  sleeping- room  (i.  e.  a  cemetery). 

25.  Matthew  omits  the  words  spoken  to  the  dead  girl.  He 
lays  the  whole  stress  on  the  wonderful  hand-touch  (cf.  Mk. 
ix.  27). 

26.  The  fame  of  the  miracle,  against  His  wish,  necessarily 
spread  (see  ver.  30)  ;  the  excitement  caused  by  such  a  cure 
hindered  His  spiritual  work.  We  surmise  that  He  would  rather 
have  taught  without  working  miracles  ;  but  He  did  what  seemed  to 
Him  the  lower  work,  partly  because  He  was  moved  by  a  constant 
compassion,  and  partly  because  He  was  giving  the  outward  and 
visible  signs  of  an  inward  and  spiritual  grace. 

27-34.  Two  other  typical  cures  are  added  ;  they  are  rather  of 
the  nature  of  an  anticlimax  after  the  narrative  just  given  ;  but  the 
object  seems  to  be  to  illustrate  completely  the  whole  range  of 
wonderful  and  merciful  works  referred  to  in  xi.  5. 

27-31.  Two  Blind  Men  healed.  In  blindness  and  in  the  open- 
ing of  the  eyes  there  is  a  deep  spiritual  meaning  (see  John  ix.  5). 
The  glaring  sun  and  the  limestone  dust  in  the  air,  not  to  mention 
the  ill-ventilated  houses  and  unclean  habits  of  the  countr}',  made 
eye-troubles  common,. just  as  similar  spiritual  causes  account  for 
the  prevalent  spiritual  blindness. 

27.  thou  son  of  David.  Jesus  ignored  the  address,  and  went 
on,  apparently  unheeding,  to  the  house,  as  in  the  narrative 
which  is  an  echo  of  this,  xx.  30  (so  xv.  22,  xxi.  9-15).  He  did 
not  wish  to  be  called  by  a  name  which  was  equivalent  to  Messias, 
considering  all  the  misleading  Messianic  associations  and  expecta- 
tions which  were  current  at  the  time.  Yet,  that  He  was  the  son 
of  David,  was  well  established  (Matt.  i.  1-17  ;  Acts  xiii.  23  ; 
Rom.  i.  3  ;  2  Tim.  ii.  8;  Apoc.  v.  5,  xxii.  16). 

28.  Believe  ye  ?  Again  the  whole  question  is,  Have  you  faith  ? 
All  things  are  possible  to  him  that  believeth.  That  once  assured, 
the  cure  is  immediate.  Thus  by  His  healing  work  He  engrains 
in  man  the  truth  of  saving  Faith. 

G  2 


S4  St.  MATTHEW  IX.  29-34 

say  unto  him,  Yea,  Lord.      Then  touched  he  29 
their  eyes,  saying,  According  to  your  faith  be  it 
done  unto  you.     And  their  eyes  were  opened.  3° 
*  C£« .        And  Jesus  l  strictly  charged  them,  saying,  See 

that  no  man  know  it.     But  they  went  forth,  and  3* 
spread  abroad  his  fame  in  all  that  land. 

And  as  they  went  forth,  behold,  there  was  32 
brought  to  him  a  dumb  man  possessed  with  a 

2  Gr.  2  devil.     And  when  the  2  devil  was  cast  out,  the  33 

demon. 

dumb  man  spake:  and  the  multitudes  marvelled, 
saying,  It  was  never  so  seen  in  Israel.     But  the  34 

3  Or,  in      Pharisees  said,  3  By  the  prince  of  the  4  devils 
demons,      casteth  he  out  4  devils. 


30.  strictly  charged.  It  is  more  '  sternly  enjoined  '  (cf.  Mark  i. 
43).  But  the  fulfilment  of  the  glorious  prophecy :  '  When  the 
eyes  of  the  blind  shall  be  opened  '  (Isa.  xxxv.  5)  was  too  wonder- 
ful and  intoxicating  an  experience.  They  could  not  help  telling 
what  the  Lord  had  done  for  them,  though  He  Himself  forbade 
them. 

32-4.  A  Dumb  Man  healed.  This  healing  of  the  dumb  man 
is  echoed  in  xii.  22-4  ;  Luke  xi.  14.  But  in  the  ministry  of 
healing  there  were  many  repetitions.  The  duplicates  are  not  so 
much  in  the  narratives  as  in  the  facts.  The  cure  of  this  particular 
dumb  demoniac  provoked  the  same  blasphemous  comment  as  the 
other  in  xii.  22-4,  but  it  also  elicited  the  cry  of  the  multitude,  which 
is  a  valuable  evidence,  to  us,  '  It  was  never  so  seen  in  Israel.' 

32.  as  they  went  forth,  sc.  of  the  house.  Jesus  was  at  this  time 
like  a  consulting-physician,  and  patients  poured  in  to  Him.  The 
mystery  of  demon-possession  need  not  hinder  the  spiritual  value 
of  Christ's  work  ;  granted  that  the  possession  was  only  a  theory 
to  explain  the  disease,  yet  the  dumbness  was  indisputable,  and 
the  recovery  of  speech  was  as  if  the  dumb  devil  had  left  him. 

33.  marvelled.  Some  think  that  this  remark  applies  to  the  long 
series  of  miracles.  But  Matthew's  intention  is  clearly  to  state 
that  this  particular  cure  excited  the  feeling  of  the  unprecedented 
power. 

34.  Here  is  a  striking  instance  of  the  different  impressions  which 
the  same  event  will  make  on  different  minds  ;  to  the  people  the 
dumb  man  speaking  is  an  evidence  of  divine  grace  mastering  the 
devil,  to  the  Pharisees  it  is  an  evidence  of  the  devil  playing  tricks 
with  his  own  emissaries.     According  to  the  eye  is  the  vision. 


St.  MATTHEW  IX.  35-37  85 

35  And  Jesus  went  about  all  the  cities  and  the 
villages,  teaching  in  their  synagogues,  and  preach- 
ing the  gospel  of  the  kingdom,  and  healing  all 
manner  of  disease  and  all  manner  of  sickness. 

36  But  when  he  saw  the  multitudes,  he  was  moved 
with  compassion  for  them,  because  they  were 
distressed  and  scattered,  as  sheep  not  having  a 

37  shepherd.  Then  saith  he  unto  his  disciples, 
The  harvest  truly  is  plenteous,  but  the  labourers 

35-8.  Summary.  This  is  a  careful  resume  of  all  that  has  been 
recorded  in  these  nine  chapters  of  the  Gospel.  It  is  a  picture  of 
the  Galilean  ministry  during  the  period  of  the  Lord's  popularity 
and  manifest  success.  To  the  brief  description  is  added  a  sug- 
gestion of  the  feelings  with  which  He  regarded  the  people.  And 
then  a  statement  of  the  need  for  labourers  leads  up  to  the  con- 
version of  the  Twelve. 

35.  This  repeats  the  general  statement  with  which  the  picture 
of  the  teaching  and  the  healing  was  opened  (iv.  23,  24  \  It  gives 
the  key  to  the  arrangement  of  these  chapters,  and  shows  that  the 
evangelist's  design  is  not  so  much  to  give  a  connected  narrative 
as  to  group  together  the  discourses  which  express  His  teaching 
and  preaching,  and  the  incidents  which  illustrate  His  healing. 
This  is  that  Jesus  who  'went  about  doing  good  '  (Acts  x.  38),  and 
was  for  the  time  being  the  object  of  general  admiration.  The 
muttered  criticisms  of  the  Pharisees  were  hardly  as  yet  heard,  and 
the  opposition  which  was  to  gather  so  quickly  to  a  head  was  at 
present  perceptible  only  to  Him.  This  is  the  first  act  of  the 
drama,  but  it  passes  into  the  second  act  (x-xiv.  12),  in  which  He 
becomes  the  object  of  hostility. 

36.  This  is  an  invaluable  picture  of  humanity  as  seen  with 
Christ's  eyes.  First  He  describes  them  as  neglected  sheep,  then 
as  an  unreaped  harvest.  His  feeling  is  not  blame  but  pit}*.  He 
blamed  the  leaders  and  teachers  of  the  people,  as  neglectful  shep- 
herds (cf.  Num.  xxvii.  17  ;  1  Kings  xxii.  17  ;  Ezek.  xxxiv.  5). 
The  neglect  of  the  shepherds  was  proved  out  of  their  own  lips, 
when  they  asked  the  amazing  question  :  -  Why  eateth  your 
master  with  publicans  and  sinners?'  (ver.  ir).  What  need  we 
any  further  witness  ?  They  condemn  themselves.  The  sheep 
are  -  flayed  and  scattered  ',  and  the  shepherds  make  that  a  reason 
for  not  gathering  or  tending  them. 

37.  The  -  plenteous  harvest '  is  the  religious  possibility  of  man- 
kind. What  they  might  be  if  there  were  some  labourers  to 
gather  in  the  sheaves,  fills  Him  with  concern.  The  labourers  are 
few,  as  yet  only  One  qualified  expert.     The  way  to  increase  the 


86  St.  MATTHEW  IX.  38— X.   1 

are  few.     Pray  ye  therefore  the   Lord  of  the  38 
harvest,  that  he  send  forth  labourers  into  his 
harvest.     And  he  called  unto  him  his  twelve  io 
disciples,  and  gave  them  authority  over  unclean 
spirits,  to  cast  them  out,  and  to  heal  all  manner 
of  disease  and  all  manner  of  sickness. 


labourers  is  to  pray  ;  perhaps  partly  because  those  who  pra}' 
thereby  become  labourers.  All  this  is  echoed  in  the  appointment 
of  the  Seventy  recorded  by  Luke  (x.  2). 

the  Lord  of  the  harvest.  Cf.  John  xv.  1,  '  My  Father  is  the 
husbandman.'  Here  lies  the  hope  that  the  great  Proprietor  will 
not  suffer  His  sheep  to  remain  scattered,  and  His  harvest  to  be 
unreaped.  He  is  chiefly  concerned  to  get  the  work  of  His  estate 
done.  If  the  law  of  its  being  demands  human  agents  to  carry  on 
the  work,  He  will  send  forth,  nay  even  'thrust'  forth  such 
labourers.  Indeed,  when  men  begin  to  pray  in  earnest,  they  are 
already  at  the  gate  of  the  harvest-field  themselves. 

Ch.  x.  Marching  Orders  of  Apostles.  After  the  direction  to 
pray  for  more  labourers,  the  Master  proceeded  to  commission 
Twelve  ;  St.  Luke  gives  an  account  of  Seventy  more  commissioned 
in  a  similar  way,  later  on  (Luke  x.  1-16).  The  Twelve,  it  has 
been  thought,  represent  Christ's  mission  to  the  Twelve  Tribes  of 
Israel,  the  Seventy  His  mission  to  the  whole  world,  which  was 
believed  to  contain  seventy  nations.  The  call  of  four  disciples — 
Peter  and  Andrew,  James  and  John — is  recorded  in  iv.  18-22, 
and  of  a  fifth,  Matthew,  in  ix.  9.  The  process  of  gathering 
disciples  is  indicated  in  viii.  18-22.  But  here  the  Twelve 
are  mentioned  as  if  they  had  been  alread37  selected.  In  Mark  it 
is  the  same.  Luke,  on  the  other  hand,  assumes  that  there  was 
already  a  larger  body  of  disciples  from  which  the  Twelve  were 
selected  (Lukevi.  13).  By  the  time  that  the  first  Gospel  narratives 
were  written  down  the  Twelve  had  become  an  established  and 
recognized  institution  ;  the  number  seemed  necessary  and  pre- 
ordained ;  the  title  '  The  Twelve '  was  equivalent  to  '  the 
Apostles '.  The  five  already  mentioned  are  the  prominent  group 
in  the  Twelve.  Philip  and  Thomas  emerge  out  of  obscurity  in 
the  Fourth  Gospel  ;  and  Bartholomew  too,  if  he  is  to  be 
identified  with  Nathanael  (John  i.  46).  Simon  the  Cananaean — 
could  that  mean  'of  Cana  ',  as  Jerome  says? — called  by  St.  Luke 
'  Zelotes '  (Luke  vi.  15  ;  Acts  1/13^  remains  only  a  name,  and  so  do 
the  rest,  with  the  exception  of  Judas,  who  attained  not  fame  but 
infamy  as  the  betrayer.  The  eminence  of  Peter  and  John  is  due 
to  the  obscurity  of  the  other  ten. 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  paragraphs  ver.  16-39  break  the  con- 
tinuity of  the  charge,  which  goes  on  smoothly  from  ver.  15  to  ver.  40, 


St.  MATTHEW  X.  2-5  87 

2  Now  the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles  are 
these :  The  first,  Simon,  who  is  called  Peter, 
and   Andrew  his   brother;   James   the   son   of 

3  Zebedee,  and    John   his   brother ;    Philip,   and 
Bartholomew  ;  Thomas,  and  Matthew  the  publi-  ,  Qr 
can  ;  Tames  the  son  of  Alphaeus,  and  Thaddaeus  ;  Zeuiot 

>  J  r  '    See  Luke 

4  Simon  the  !  Cananaean,  and  Judas  Iscariot,  who  «.  15; 

^  '  J  Acts  1.  13. 

g  also  2  betrayed  him.     These  twelve  Jesus  sent  2  0r,  de- 
forth,  and  charged  them,  saying,  him  up  ■. 

Go  not  into  a?iy  way  of  the  Gentiles,   and  always. 

'Whosoever  shall  not  receive  .  .  .  '  to  'he  that  receiveth  you'. 
The  interpolated  paragraphs  are  introduced  according  to  Matthew's 
custom  of  grouping  together  the  material  under  certain  heads. 
The  chapter,  therefore,  represents  all  that  our  Lord  gave  as 
direction,  warning,  or  encouragement  to  the  Twelve  at  various 
times. 

We  have  to  distinguish,  as  the  Holy  Spirit  guides  us,  between 
the  temporary  directions  of  the  commission  and  the  eternal 
principles  which  underlie  them. 

1.  The  Work  of  apostles.  The  first  work  of  the  disciple,  as  of 
the  Master,  was  to  be  a  divine  healer,  casting  out  evil  spirits  and 
curing  disease.  From  Mark  vi.  12  it  appears  that  he  also  preached 
repentance,  but  here  also  the  stress  is  laid  on  the  anointing  with 
oil  and  healing  the  sick.  Here  the  preaching  is  in  the  form, 
'  The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  at  hand  '  (ver.  7).  It  has  been  too 
often  assumed  that  the  healing  was  temporary,  but  the  preaching 
was  permanent.  Perhaps  the  time  is  at  hand  when  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  commission  cannot  be  thus  bisected. 

2.  The  Men.  Here  alone  in  this  gospel  are  the  men  called 
apostles  (cf.  Mark  vi.  30).  But  in  the  later  Gospel  of  Luke  it  is 
a  frequent  designation.  At  first  it  means  simply  messengers  ;  it 
was  the  grandeur  of  the  message  which  gave  to  the  messenger 
the  style  and  title  and  repute  which  are  implied  in  our  word 
Apostolic. 

The  Twelve  are  grouped  in  pairs,  in  the  case  of  the  first  two 
pairs  because  the  pairs  were  brothers,  in  the  case  of  the  others 
for  reasons  we  do  not  know. 

4.  Iscariot.  This  may  mean  'the  man  of  Kerioth ',  a  town  of 
Judah  (Josh.  xv.  25  ;  Jer.  xlviii.  41)  ;  if  this  be  so,  the  traitor  was 
the  only  Judaean  in  the  company  ;  the  rest  were  provincials, 
Galileans. 

5-42.  The  Commission.  This  may  be  anatysed  thus  :  (1)  The 
scope  of  the  present  mission,   ver.  5-15.      (2)  The  reproach  of 


88  St.  MATTHEW  X.  6-11 

enter  not  into  any  city  of  the  Samaritans  :  but  6 
go  rather  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel. 
And  as  ye  go,  preach,  saying,  The  kingdom  of  7 
heaven  is  at  hand.     Heal  the  sick,  raise  the  8 

1  Gr.  dead,  cleanse  the  lepers,  cast  out '  devils  :  freely 
demons.     ye  recejve(^  freeiy  giVe.     Get  you  no  gold,  nor  9 

2  Gr.  silver,  nor  brass  in  your  2  purses  ;  no  wallet  for  10 
*ir  cs'     your  journey,  neither  two  coats,  nor  shoes,  nor 

staff:  for  the  labourer  is  worthy  of  his  food. 
And  into  whatsoever  city   or  village  ye   shall  ir 

Christ,  ver.  16-23.  (3)  The  security  in  the  Master,  ver.  24-33. 
(4)  The  warfare  and  fidelity  unto  death,  ver.  34-9.  (5)  The 
blessing  on  those  who  receive  an  apostle,  ver.  40-2. 

5-15.  The  Scope  of  the  present  Mission.  This  is  obviously  a 
temporary  direction,  applying  only  to  the  particular  tour  now  en- 
joined. It  was  a  mission  to  Israel,  before  any  effort  should  be  made 
for  the  Gentiles.  '  It  was  necessary  that  the  gospel  should  be  first 
preached '  to  the  House  of  Israel,  and  only  when  the  Jews 
rejected  it  might  the  apostles  turn  to  the  Gentiles  (Acts  xiii.  46). 
The  Samaritans  the  Lord  visited  Himself,  but  apostles  were  not 
sent  to  them  until  after  Pentecost  (Acts  viii.  5).  The  restriction 
was  necessary,  because  the  messengers  themselves  had  to  be 
trained,  and  they  were  not  fit  for  a  mission  to  the  Gentiles  until 
Jesus  was  glorified  and  the  Holy  Spirit  was  given.  Perhaps  the 
permanent  principle  underlying  the  passage  is,  that  we  are  bound 
first  of  all  to  make  Christ  known  to  those  of  our  own  house,  and 
only  when  the  home  duty  is  performed  are  we  fitted  for  efforts 
farther  afield. 

6.  Christ  yearned  over  the  lost  sheep :  cf.  ix.  36. 

8.  raise  the  dead.  We  are  not  told  of  any  instance  of  raising 
the  dead  at  this  time.  But  Peter  remembered  his  commission 
when  he  stood  by  the  bier  of  Dorcas. 

12.  The  old  commentator,  Euthymius  Zigabenus,  rightly  appre- 
hends the  significance  of  this  injunction,  when  he  says  that  the 
Lord  enjoins  on  His  disciples  '  a  simple  life '.  It  need,  there- 
fore, be  no  difficulty  that  in  Mark  vi.  8-10  the  staff  and  sandals, 
here  forbidden,  are  commanded.  The  details  are  secondary  ;  the 
main  thought  is,  that  the  messengers  are  not  to  be  impeded,  not  to 
entangle  themselves  with  possessions,  not  to  get  or  carry  money, 
and  so  to  become,  as  preachers  in  the  days  of  the  Didache  became, 
XpiGTefj.nopoi,  Christ-merchants.  They  need  not  even  carry  food, 
for  their  ministry  would  always  entitle  them  to  support  from  those 
whom  they  taught  and  healed. 


St.  MATTHEW  X.  12-17  89 

enter,  search  out  who  in  it  is  worthy ;  and  there 
1  a  abide  till  ye  go  forth.     And  as  ye  enter  into  the 

13  house,  salute  it.  And  if  the  house  be  worthy, 
let  your  peace  come  upon  it :  but  if  it  be  not 

1 4  worthy,  let  your  peace  return  to  you.  And  whoso- 
ever shall  not  receive  you,  nor  hear  your  words, 
as  ye  go  forth  out  of  that  house  or  that  city, 

15  shake  off  the  dust  of  your  feet.  Verily  I  say 
unto  you,  It  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  the  land 
of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  in  the  day  of  judge- 
ment, than  for  that  city. 

16  Behold,  I  send  you  forth  as  sheep  in  the 
midst  of  wolves  :  be  ye  therefore  wise  as  serpents, 

1 7  and  l  harmless  as  doves.     But  beware  of  men  :  simple 

13.  your  peace.  That  was  the  salutation :  cf.  1  Sam.  xxv.  6  ; 
1  Chron.  xii.  18.  The  returning  of  the  '  peace  '  means  the  with- 
drawal of  the  salutation,  as  the  visitor  finds  that  he  is  not  welcome, 
and  therefore  will  not  stay. 

14.  shake  the  dust.  It  was  the  custom  in  returning  from  a 
Gentile  land  to  the  sacred  soil  of  Israel,  to  shake  off  the  alien  dust. 
They  of  the  House  of  Israel  who  would  not  receive  the  messengers 
of  Christ,  were  treated  as  'not  of  Israel',  they  became  a  sort  of 
spiritual  Gentile.  The  '  Israelite  indeed '  was  he  who  recognized 
and  welcomed  the  Messias  who  had  come.  The  rejection  of  the 
opportunity  ranked  the  town  or  village  with  the  '  cities  of  the 
plain  \ 

16-39.  By  referring  to  Luke  x.  3,  where  much  of  this  commis- 
sion is  given  later  to  the  Seventy,  we  justify  the  view,  that 
this  long  paragraph  is  interpolated  by  Matthew  between  ver.  15 
and  40,  according  to  his  manner  of  grouping  together  the  sayings 
which  refer  to  a  particular  subject. 

16-23.  The  Reproach  of  Christ. 

16.  ;';/  the  midst  of  wolves.  Not  'to  the  wolves',  but  always 
surrounded  by  powers  that  would  destroy  them.  Are  the  wolves 
men,  or  the  principalities  and  powers  in  spiritual  places  ?  From 
the  contrast  presented  in  the  next  verse,  of  '  men  \  we  suppose  that 
the  wolves  are  the  unhuman  enemies.  The  serpent's  wisdom  is 
seen  in  Gen.  iii.  1  and  implied  in  Ps.  lviii.  5.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  dove  is  silly  (Hos.  vii.  11),  but  harmless  ;  the  same  word  as  in 
Rom.  xvi.  19. 

17.  men.  The  same  as  the  '  world  '  in  St.  John.  The  scourging 
is  recorded  in  Acts  xxii.  19  ;  2  Cor.  xi.  24. 


9o  St.  MATTHEW  X.   18-23 

for  they  will  deliver  you  up  to  councils,  and  in 
their  synagogues  they  will  scourge  you  ;  yea  and  1 8 
before  governors  and  kings  shall  ye  be  brought 
for  my  sake,  for  a  testimony  to  them  and  to  the 
Gentiles.    But  when  they  deliver  you  up,  be  not  19 
anxious  how  or  what  ye  shall  speak  :  for  it  shall 
be  given  you  in  that  hour  what  ye  shall  speak. 
For  it  is  not  ye  that  speak,  but  the  Spirit  of  your  20 
Father  that  speaketh  in  you.    And  brother  shall  2 1 
deliver  up  brother  to  death,  and  the  father  his 
child  :  and  children  shall  rise  up  against  parents, 
iOr,/«/    and  !  cause  them  to  be  put  to  death.     And  ye  22 

them  to  r  j 

death  shall  be  hated  of  all  men  for  my  name's  sake : 
but  he  that  endureth  to  the  end,  the  same  shall 
be  saved.  But  when  they  persecute  you  in  this  23 
city,  flee  into  the  next :  for  verily  I  say  unto  you, 
Ye  shall  not  have  gone  through  the  cities  of 
Israel,  till  the  Son  of  man  be  come. 

18.  for  a  testimony.  It  is  the  appearance  of  martyrs  in  their 
sufferings  which  has  again  and  again  won  converts  to  Christ. 
St.  Alban  so  behaved  before  the  magistrate  that  the  soldier  who 
was  to  behead  him  knelt  beside  him  and  was  beheaded  as  a 
Christian.  So  it  has  always  been.  The  Greek  word  is 
martyrium. 

20.  the  Spirit  of  your  Father.  An  echo  of  vi.  32.  The  Father 
knows  and  cares. 

22.  the  end  might  be  the  end  of  the  persecution  ;  but  more 
probably  '  the  end  of  the  age  '  (xiii.  39). 

23.  The  obscurity  of  the  saying  would  be  relieved  if,  with 
Lutteroth,  we  might  take  the  title  '  Son  of  Man  '  not  as  a  mere 
synonym  for  the  personal  pronoun,  but  as  the  significant  name 
of  Christ,  in  opposition  to  the  strictly  Jewish  title  '  Son  of 
David  '.  Then  the  meaning  of  the  verse  would  be  :  '  Do  not 
linger  in  the  evangelistic  mission  to  the  cities  of  Israel  (cf.  ver.  6), 
but  pass  rapidly  through,  because  before  }'ou  finish  the  homeland 
I  shall  have  taken  on  my  more  universal  title  of  Son  of  Man,  i.  e. 
the  messenger  of  God  to  humanity  at  large.'  Cf.  xvi.  28,  where 
1  the  Son  of  Man  comes1  in  the  Transfiguration.  This  also  shows 
how   temporary    was    the    restriction  of  the  message  to    Israel. 


St.   MATTHEW  X.  24-29 


9i 


24      A  disciple  is  not  above  his  1  master,  nor  a  1  or, 

2-  2 servant  above  his  lord.     It  is  enough  for  the  sor.&iirf. 

disciple  that   he  be   as   his  ■  master,  and   the  servanL 
2  servant  as  his  lord.     If  they  have  called  the 

master  of  the   house  3 Beelzebub,  how   much  3Gr,- 

Beelzebiil: 

more  shall  they  call  them   of  his  household  !  and  so 

elsewhere. 

26  Fear  them  not  therefore :  for  there  is  nothing 
covered,  that  shall  not  be  revealed ;  and  hid, 

27  that  shall  not  be  known.  What  I  tell  you  in 
the  darkness,  speak  ye  in  the  light :  and  what 
ye  hear  in  the  ear,  proclaim  upon  the  housetops. 

2s  And  be  not  afraid  of  them  which  kill  the  body, 
but  are  not  able  to  kill  the  soul :  but  rather  fear 
him  which  is  able  to  destroy  both  soul   and 

29  body  in  4  hell.     Are  not  two  sparrows  sold  for  *  Gr. 

.  Gehenna. 

a  farthing?  and  not  one  of  them  shall  fall  on 


The  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  Man  can  apply  to  nothing  short  of  all 
mankind. 

24~33-  The  security  of  the  Disciple  in  the  Master.  Let  us 
not  expect  a  better  reception  than  Christ  met  with  here,  if  we  wish 
to  share  His  reception  hereafter.  He  was  called  Beelzebub 
fix.  3,  xii.  24).  Let  us  welcome  reproach  for  His  dear  name,  as 
Henry  Martyn  did. 

24.  master,  i.  e.  Rabbi. 

26.  Fear  them  not.  Repeated,  ver.  28  and  ver.  31.  The  flowing 
tide  is  with  the  Christian.  The  faith  is  at  first  a  secret  in  a  hole 
or  corner  ;  but  it  is  to  spread.  The  apostle  is  to  utter  the  secret 
boldly  in  the  daylight  of  human  intercourse,  even  from  the  house- 
top, the  most  public  of  all  positions. 

28.  Fear  not  the  persecutor;  but  the  tempter.  The  former  has  no 
power  over  the  soul  ;  the  latter  aims  only  at  the  soul.  See  v.  29, 
where  the  words  of  Jesus  explain  the  phrase  here.  On  the  other 
hand,  Jas.  iv.  12  would  suggest  that  not  the  tempter,  but  God  is 
meant.  So  Luke. — Mr.  Allen  explains  'fear  not  physical  death. 
But  fear  the  wrath  of  God  against  unfaithfulness  to  Him,  for  He 
can  destroy  soul  and  body  together  in  Gehenna.' 

29.  farthing.  The  Roman  coin,  the  as,  is  of  the  value  of  \d. 
The  Father  is  by  the  sparrow's  death-bed  :  He  is  not  likely  to 
forget  one  who  is  witnessing  for  His  Well-beloved  Son.  The 
hairs  are  numbered  :  cf.  1  Sam.  xiv.  45.     The  gentle  humour  of 


92  St.  MATTHEW  X.  30-34 

the  ground  without  your  Father :  but  the  very  30 
hairs  of  your  head  are  all  numbered.     Fear  not  31 
therefore ;  ye  are  of  more  value  than   many 
sparrows.    Every  one  therefore  who  shall  confess  32 
1  Gr.  in      !  me  before  men, 2  him  will  I  also  confess  before 
?Gr  in      my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.     But  whosoever  33 
him-  shall  deny  me  before  men,  him  will  I  also  deny 

before  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven. 
-Gr. cast.        Think  not  that  I  came  to  3send  peace  on  the  34 
earth  :  I  came  not  to  s  send  peace,  but  a  sword. 

the  words,  '  ye  are  of  more  value  than  many  sparrows,'  gives  an 
unspeakably  intimate  assurance  to  the  disciple  in  his  hour  of  peril. 

32.  shall  confess  me.  It  is  really  '  shall  confess  in  me  ',  because, 
as  Chrysostom  says,  we  confess  by  the  grace  of  Christ.  We  con- 
fess by  being  in  Him.  On  the  other  hand,  we  deny  Him,  of 
ourselves,  by  being  out  of  Him  altogether.  But  the  wonder 
comes  in  the  parallel  clause  :  '  I  also  will  confess  in  Him.'  This 
does  not  mean  merely  that  He  will  own  the  faithful  disciple 
before  the  throne  of  the  Father,  but  that  He  will  be  so  in  the 
disciple  that  in  that  great  day  the  response  of  the  disciple  before 
God  will  be  Christ  speaking  in  him.  The  only  parallel  is  '  abide 
in  me  and  I  in  j^ou  '   (John  xv.  4). 

33.  On  the  other  hand,  the  denial  of  Christ  here  puts  a  man  out 
of  Christ,  and  necessarily  there  Christ  will  declare  that  the  man 
is  out  of  Him.  We  are  only  complete  in  Him  ;  if  any  man  be  in 
Christ  he  is  a  new  creature.  Christ  must  necessarily  disown  those 
who  are  not  in  Him. 

34-9.  The  Warfare  and  Fidelity.  This  is  a  hard  saying,  one 
which  we  are  tempted  to  reverse,  but  for  that  very  reason  our  Lord 
was  explicit  in  forewarning  us  what  was  to  be  expected.  Natu- 
rally, from  His  whole  character  of  love  and  mercy,  and  from  His 
exquisite  law  of  conduct,  His  disciples  would  anticipate  the  im- 
mediate dawn  of  peace  and  harmony.  But  that  could  not  be.  The 
immediate  effect  of  accepting  Christ  and  His  claim  was  that  the 
disciple  had  to  choose  between  Christ  and  the  relatives  or  house- 
mates who  were  set  against  Him.  Nothing  would  excite  more 
bitter  and  envenomed  hostility  than  the  calm  tenacity  with  which 
the  true  believer  would  cling  to  his  invisible  Lord.  Homes  would 
be  divided  ;  parents  would  attempt  to  ccerce  their  children,  and 
even  to  kill  them  if  they  were  obdurate.  It  cannot  be  doubted 
that  the  Lord  foresaw  what  would  happen,  and  in  this  way  from 
the  very  first  prepared  His  followers  for  the  result. 

34.  The  sword  is  perhaps  only  symbolical  of  the  conflict  which 


St.  MATTHEW  X.   35-37  93 

35  For  I  came  to  set  a  man  at  variance  against  his 
father,  and  the  daughter  against  her  mother,  and 
the  daughter  in  law  against  her  mother  in  law : 

36  and  a  man's  foes  shall  be  they  of  his  own  house- 

37  hold.  He  that  loveth  father  or  mother  more 
than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me  ;  and  he  that  loveth 
son  or  daughter  more  than  me  is  not  worthy  of 


would  ensue  when  a  man  or  woman  had  determined  to  follow 
Christ.  In  the  event  the  sword  has  often  been  literal  enough. 
The  Crusaders  fought  the  infidel  under  the  banner  of  the  Cross. 
Catholics  and  Protestants  waged  the  Thirty  Years'  war.  Scotland 
was  desolated  by  the  Episcopal  attempt  to  destroy  the  Covenant. 
But  these  wars  of  religion  were  not  contemplated  by  our  Lord, 
still  less  approved.  And  the  domestic  scene  of  the  strife 
described  in  ver.  35-6  justifies  us  in  taking  the  sword  merely  as 
a  symbol  of  discord. 

The  younger  people  are  the  converts  to  the  new  faith  ;  the 
young  naturally  begin  the  revolution  in  thought.  They  are  con- 
fronted by  the  opposition  of  parents  and  relatives,  and  they 
have  to  make  the  momentous  choice.  Christ  or  filial  obedience, 
which  ?  In  that  arduous  conflict  a  scene  is  produced  which 
appears  to  be  like  the  scene  described  by  Micah  vii.  6.  Indeed, 
the  Lord  is  actually  quoting  the  description  of  the  apostate  and 
rebellious  land  given  by  the  prophet  :  '  For  the  son  dishonoureth 
the  father,  the  daughter  riseth  up  against  her  mother,  the 
daughter-in-law  against  her  mother-in-law  ;  a  man's  enemies  are 
the  men  of  his  own  house.1  But  the  resemblance  is  only  on  the 
surface.  The  strife  described  by  Micah  is  the  disintegration  of 
a  corrupt  and  avaricious  society,  in  which  the  contending  parties 
are  equally  guilty ;  but  the  strife  described  by  our  Lord  is  the 
struggle  between  truth  "and  error,  between  light  and  darkness, 
between  God  and  man.  The  great  new  truth  of  the  Gospel  has 
entered  a  family  ;  traditional  prejudices  and  superstitions  war 
against  it ;  the  conflict  is  severe  ;  but  truth  will  gain  the  day,  and 
out  of  the  strife  will  come  a  higher  kind  of  peace.  All  this  is 
implied  in  the  context  ;  it  is  not  expressed  in  these  verses,  because 
the  object  here  is  simply  to  nerve  the  disciples  to  make  the 
right  choice,  and  to  prepare  them  to  set  Christ  even  before  the 
dearest  earthly  ties.  The  great  argument  has  been  frequently 
abused  and  turned  to  perilous  accounts,  but  it  is  essential  and 
irrevocable. 

37.  What  a  claim  it  is  !  No  earthly  ties  are  closer  than  those 
between  parents  and  children,  and  yet  one  who  loves  these  more 
than  Christ  is  not  worthy  of  Him.     Who  can  that  be  who  makes 


94  St.  MATTHEW  X.  38-40 

me.    And  he  that  doth  not  take  his  cross  and  38 
follow  after  me,  is  not  worthy  of  me.     He  that  39 
1  Or,  *  findeth   his   2  life   shall   lose  it ;  and   he  that 

"jo* soul  3  loseth  his  2 life  for  my  sake  shall  find  it. 
3  Or,  lost        jje  tjiat  receiveth  you  receiveth  me,  and  he  4° 
that  receiveth  me  receiveth  him  that  sent  me. 


such  a  claim — king,  prophet,  philosopher,  priest  ?  None  of  these 
could  demand  love  greater  than  the  instinct  of  parental  or  filial 
affection.  Only  the  Creator,  or  a  Saviour,  could  demand  it,  a 
Creator-Saviour. 

38.  This  saying  about  the  Cross  occurs  again  in  xvi.  24-5.  It 
was  a  Roman  form  of  punishment,  made  familiar  to  the  Jew  by 
the  Roman  government  of  the  country  ;  the  criminal  carried  his 
own  cross  to  the  place  of  execution.  From  this  familiar  fact  grew 
up  many  figurative  allusions.  The  disciples  listening  to  the  saying 
before  events  had  unrolled  their  Master's  crucifixion  would  take  it  to 
mean  that  their  fidelity  must  go  the  length  of  bearing  the  extremity 
of  shameful  suffering  incurred  at  the  hands  of  governments  (see 
ver.  22).  But  when,  in  process  of  time,  the  disciples  saw  their  own 
Master  carry  His  cross  and  die  upon  it,  they  gave  to  the  saying 
the  deeper  meaning  which  now  comes  most  readily  to  our  mind. 

39.  The  Greek  word  ipvxn  means  life  and  soul.  Naturally  it 
meant  the  former,  but  more  and  more  in  Christian  usage  it  meant 
the  latter.  It  is  the  double  meaning  which  explains  the  paradox. 
Suppose  we  are  speaking  only  of  the  vital  principle  which  makes 
the  organism  of  the  body  ;  a  man  finds  it  at  birth,  it  comes  to 
him  naturally  ;  but  it  disappears  again  at  death  ;  he  finds  and 
keeps  it  only  to  lose  it.  But  suppose  he  freely  surrenders  it,  and 
is  willing  to  die  for  Christ's  sake,  that  vital  principle  is  a  deeper 
and  more  lasting  entity,  a  '  soul ',  an  immortal  soul.  Where 
Christ  comes  in,  the  hope  of  glory,  and  the  seed  of  eternal  life,  a 
man  lays  down  his 'life',  but  finds  his   'soul'. 

40-2.  The  Blessing  on  those  who  receive  an  Apostle.  This 
obviously  follows  closely  on  ver.  15.  The  Lord  had  just  said 
what  would  happen  to  those  who  would  not  receive  His  mes- 
sengers :  now  He  shows  what  will  happen  to  those  who  will 
receive  them. 

40.  He  takes  the  reception  given  to  His  representatives  as  given 
to  Himself;  He  claims  that  a  reception  given  to  Him  is  given  to 
God  (Luke  x.  16  ;  John  xiii.  20).  So  Paul :  '  Ye  received  me  as 
a  messenger  of  God,  even  as  Christ  Jesus '  (Gal.  iv.  14)  :  cf. 
ch.  xviii.  5,  xxv.  40.  The  Spirit  of  the  Father  would  speak 
through  the  disciple,  and  in  that  sense  it  would  be  God  Himself 
who  was  received  or  rejected.  In  Mark  ix.  37  every  little  child 
is  in  this  sense  made  an  apostle  (so  Luke  ix.  48).     Christ's  own 


St.  MATTHEW  X.  41— XI.  1  95 

41  He  that  receiveth  a  prophet  in  the  name  of  a 
prophet  shall  receive  a  prophet's  reward ;  and 
he  that  receiveth  a  righteous  man  in  the  name  of 
a  righteous  man  shall  receive  a  righteous  man's 

42  reward.  And  whosoever  shall  give  to  drink  unto 
one  of  these  little  ones  a  cup  of  cold  water  only, 
in  the  name  of  a  disciple,  verily  I  say  unto  you, 
he  shall  in  no  wise  lose  his  reward. 

11      And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jesus  had  made 

relation  with  the  Father  is  stated  in  John  xii.  44-5.  Thus  the 
Divinity  of  Jesus  is  primary,  but  there  is  a  secondary  divinity  of 
those  who  believe  in  Him  and  speak  for  Him. 

41.  prophet.  Compare  the  old  prophets,  Elijah  at  Zarephath 
(1  Kings  xvii.  10-15)  or  those  protected  by  Obadiah  ^1  Kings 
xviii.  4)  or  Elisha  received  by  the  Shunammite  (2  Kings  iv.  8). 
But  the  minister  of  Christ  is  still  called  '  prophet '  and  k  scribe ' 
xiii.  51,  xxiii.  34.  To  receive  a  prophet  is  as  good  as  to  be  a  prophet. 
But  some  prophets  were  not  righteous  ;  Christ  therefore  adds  : 
'  He  that  receiveth  a  righteous  man.'  The  phrase  might  mean 
only  a  fulfiller  of  the  law,  but  it  carries  in  its  bosom  also  the 
righteousness  which  is  of  God  by  faith.  The  righteous  man  in 
that  deep  evangelic  sense  is  equivalent  to  Christian,  or  apostle 
of  Christ.  '  See  how  He  cares  for  their  morals,'  exclaims 
Chrysostom.  He  makes  no  claim  for  His  messengers  except  so 
far  as  they  are  good. 

42.  these  little  ones,  viz.  the  Apostles !  Even  the  greatest 
disciples  of  Christ  are  little  ones,  mere  children,  in  comparison 
with  Him.  Cf.  xxv.  40:  'a  cup  of  cold  water'  is  mentioned  as 
a  very  little  gift ;  but,  as  a  modern  traveller  says  :  '  In  this  hot 
and  dry  land,  where  one  can  wander  for  hours  without  coming 
on  a  brook  or  an  accessible  cistern,  you  say  "thank  you"  for 
a  drink  of  fresh  water  with  very  different  feelings  than  we  do  at 
home '  (Furrer). 

Thus  the  Lord  has  identified  Himself  with  His  representatives  : 
the  world's  treatment  of  them  He  accepts  as  meted  out  to  Him- 
self. In  all  their  afflictions  He  is  afflicted  :  in  their  victories  He 
triumphs.  Those  who  further  and  help  them  become  His  creditors, 
whom  He  will  assuredly  repay. 

We  see,  then,  in  full  what  we  are  to  expect,  good  and  ill,  suffering 
and  joy,  when  we  follow  Him.   There  is  no  secret ;  all  is  made  plain. 

Ch.  xi.  The  opposition  to  Jesus  begins. 

Even  John  the  Baptist  questions  (ver.  1-19) ;  the  busy  commercial 
centres  refuse  Him  (ver.  20-4) ;  the  'wise  and  understanding'  are 


96  St.  MATTHEW  XI.  2-4 

an  end  of  commanding  his  twelve  disciples,  he 
departed  thence  to  teach  and  preach  in  their 
cities. 

Now  when  John  heard  in  the  prison  the  works  2 
of  the  Christ,  he  sent  by  his  disciples,  and  said  3 
unto  him,  Art  thou  he  that  cometh,  or  look  we 
for  another  ?   And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  4 
them,  Go  your  way  and  tell  John  the  things 


blind  to  Him  (ver.  25).    The  pious  in  the  nation,  the  Pharisees, 
show  a  hostility  which  deepens  and  strengthens  (ch.  xii,  &c). 

1.  In  Luke  the  matter  of  this  chapter  comes  before  the  dispatch 
of  the  apostles  in  ch.  x,  but  here  it  is  implied  that  the  Twelve 
were  away  on  their  mission,  and  He  withdrew,  in  order  to  leave 
them  for  awhile  cast  on  their  own  resources. 

2-19.  Even  John  the  Baptist  doubts. 

2.  the  Christ,  i.  e.  Messias.  The  Forerunner,  who  had 
recognized  and  announced  Jesus  as  Messias,  was  in  prison 
(iv.  12),  in  Herod's  stronghold  of  Machaerus  (Jos.  Ant.  xviii.  5.  2). 
There  he  had  lain  for  a  year.  He  thought  that  Messias,  whose 
function  it  was  to  set  at  liberty  them  that  are  bound,  would  have 
liberated  him.  The  'works  of  the  Christ'  were  not  what  he  had 
anticipated.  He  foretold  that  Christ  would  lay  the  axe  to  the 
root  of  the  tree,  and  would  come  with  His  fan  in  His  hand, 
winnowing.  The  baptism  he  expected  was  of  fire,  burning  the 
chaff.  He  belonged  to  the  order  of  Old  Testament  prophets,  and 
had  no  idea  that  love  was  the  chief  Messianic  charisma.  His 
disciples  still  clung  to  him  in  prison  ;  only  a  few  of  them  had 
gone  over  to  his  great  Successor.  And  probably  they  deepened 
the  depression  and  gloom  of  the  prison  atmosphere  by  re- 
presenting Christ  as  indifferent  to  him,  and  him  as  an  injured 
and  ill-rewarded  prophet.  The  magnanimity,  which  saw  at  the  first 
that  he  must  decrease  while  Christ  increased,  was  not  proof 
against  the  prison  atmosphere.  He  had  said  that  Jesus  was 
'He  that  should  come'  (iii.  11).     Now  he  was  in  doubt  himself. 

4.  The  answer  of  Jesus  to  the  question,  whether  He  was 
Messias,  is  very  characteristic.  He  does  not  rebuke  John  for 
his  doubt,  but  only  says  :  '  Blessed  is  he  who  is  not  offended  in 
me.'  He  does  not  lay  loud  claim  to  His  lofty  title,  but  only 
directs  attention  to  His  works,  and  leaves  John  to  judge  from 
them,  who  He  is.  In  the  later  narrative  (Luke  vii.  21)  Jesus 
works  miracles  there  and  then,  to  convince  the  messengers  ;  here 
He  appeals  to  the  constant  incidents  of  His  ministry,  the  events 
which  have  happened  and  are  now  on  everybody's  tongue 
(viii.  1-4,  ix.  1-7,  18-33). 


St.  MATTHEW  XI.  5-8 


97 


5  which  ye  do  hear  and  see :  the  blind  receive 
their  sight,  and  the  lame  walk,  the  lepers  are 
cleansed,  and  the  deaf  hear,  and  the  dead  arc 
raised  up,   and   the   poor   have  xgood   tidings  J^Ji 

6  preached  to  them.  And  blessed  is  he,  whoso- 
ever shall  find  none  occasion  of  stumbling  in 

7  me.  And  as  these  went  their  way,  Jesus  began 
to  say  unto  the  multitudes  concerning  John, 
What  went  ye  out  into  the  wilderness  to  behold  ? 

8  a  reed  shaken  with  the  wind  ?  But  what  went  ye 


5.  have  good  tidings  preached  to  them.  The  Greek  word  in  the 
passive  (so  Heb.  iv.  2)  is  simpler:  'The  dead  are  raised,  and  the 
poor  are  evangelized.'  As  the  Gospel  is  the  chief  thing,  we  may 
assume  that  the  spiritual  significance  of  the  miracles  is  more 
important  than  the  miracles  themselves.  The  blind,  the  lame, 
the  lepers,  the  deaf  and  the  dead,  are  types  of  the  sinful  souls 
who  are  saved  by  the  Gospel.  Thus  the  '  dead  '  may  mean  those 
who  are  spiritually  dead,  as  in  viii.  22,  those  who  were  lost  to 
heaven  and  home,  like  the  son  in  the  parable  (Luke  xv.  24-32). 
But  we  must  not,  with  Wellhausen,  cast  a  doubt  on  the  physical 
miracles,  because  their  importance  lay  in  their  spiritual  meaning. 
It  was  the  actual  healing  of  the  blind  and  the  deaf  and  the  lame 
which  showed  to  John  how  exactly  Jesus  fulfilled  the  Messianic 
prophecy  (Isa.  xxxv.  5,  lxi.  1).  And  Christ's  power  to  raise  men 
to  spiritual  life  is  the  reflex  of  His  power  to  raise  them  from  the 
dead.  On  this  point  the  witness  of  the  fourth  Gospel  is  explicit 
(v.  24-8).  Yet  Jesus  knew  how  these  miracles  of  power  were 
and  would  be  a  stumblingblock  to  many. 

6.  All  His  disciples  found  an  occasion  of  stumbling  in  Him 
(xxvi.  31).  We  cannot  help  hoping  that  the  message  to  John  in 
prison  produced  the  desired  effect,  that  he  was  convinced,  and 
did  not  find  an  occasion  of  stumbling.     But  we  are  not  told. 

7-10.  When  the  messengers  had  set  off  for  Machaerus,  Jesus 
turned  to  the  crowds  and  explained  exactly  who  and  what  John 
was.  He  induces  them  to  reflect  by  asking  them  what  it  was 
that  they  went  out  into  the  Arabah — that  is  the  wilderness  of 
Jordan — to  see.  In  the  Arabah  the  reeds  grow,  an  emblem  of 
instability  (1  Kings  xiv.  15).  '  What  a  vast  space  of  time,'  says 
Furrer,  a  modern  traveller,  'lies  between  the  days  of  the  Baptist 
and  us  !  Yet  the  stream  flows  in  the  old  bed.  Still  gently  blows 
the  wind  among  the  sighing  reeds.'  But  it  was  not  the  supple 
unstable  reeds  they  went  out  to  see. 

H 


98  St.  MATTHEW  XL  9-12 

out  for  to  see?  a  man  clothed  in  soft  raiment} 
Behold,  they  that  wear  soft  raiment  are  in  kings' 
i  Many  houses.  1  But  wherefore  went  ye  out  ?  to  see  a  9 
authorities  prophet  ?  Yea,  I  say  unto  you,  and  much  more 
Twhatwent  than  a  prophet.  This  is  he,  of  whom  it  is  written,  10 
*ee/?"J°  Behold,  I  send  my  messenger  before  thy  face, 
prophet}        who  ghall  prepare  thy  way  before  thee. 

Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Among  them  that  are  n 
born  of  women  there  hath  not  arisen  a  greater 
2Gr  than  John  the  Baptist :  yet  he  that  is  2but  little 

lesser.        jn  tne  kingdom  of  heaven  is  greater  than  he. 

And  from  the  days  of  John  the  Baptist  until  12 
now  the  kingdom  of  heaven  suffereth  violence, 


8.  Nor  was  it  a  courtier,  or  adviser  of  kings,  that  they  went 
out  to  see. 

9.  It  was  a  prophet,  the  exact  opposite  of  reed  or  courtier, 
a  great  prophet,  the  last  of  the  order,  and  greater  than  all, 
because  he  lived  to  see  the  day  which  all  had  foretold. 

Yea.  The  same  meaning  as  the  Amen,  so  often  on  His  lips 
(cf.  2  Cor.  i.  20  ;  Rev.  i.  7).  Then  in  express  words  Jesus  says 
that  John  was  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy  of  Mai.  iii.  1. 

11-15.  These  verses  seem  as  if  they  were  addressed  rather  to 
the  disciples  than  to  the  crowds,  but  see  note  on  ver.  r.  In 
Luke  (xvi.  16)  ver.  12  is  addressed  to  the  Pharisees. 

11.  greater.     This  refers  to  John's  intrinsic  worth. 

arisen,  i.e.  the  Lord  raised  him  up  (cf.  Judges  ii.  18,  iii.  9). 
And  yet  the  future  belongs  not  to  him,  but  to  Another.  The 
least  believer,  admitted  into  the  Kingdom  of  God  by  faith  in 
Christ,  is  greater  even  than  this  greatest  representative  of  the 
old  order,  greater  not  in  intrinsic  worth,  but  in  the  possession  of 
a  richer  inheritance.  Erasmus  and  Luther  oddly  explain  'the 
lesser  in  the  Kingdom '  to  mean  Christ  himself,  but  Christ  in  His 
humility  never  represented  Himself  as  little  in  the  Kingdom  of 
God.     And  the  antithesis  is  spoilt  by  this  freak  of  interpretation. 

12.  Cf.  Luke  xvi.  16,  '  from  the  days  of  John  the  Baptist  until 
now ' — a  short  interval  in  time,  but  so  eventful  in  the  trans- 
formation of  human  hope  that  it  seemed  a  great  epoch.  The 
character  of  the  epoch  is  now  described  in  words  which  remain 
ambiguous.  The  'men  of  violence', thinks  Wellhausen,  are  the 
zealots  who  wished  to  make  war  with  Rome  on  behalf  of  the 
Kingdom ;    fellow-soldiers  with  the  Christians,  though   deluded, 


St.  MATTHEW  XI.  13-16  99 

13  and  men  of  violence  take  it  by  force.     For  all 
the  prophets  and  the  law  prophesied  until  John. 
'4  And  if  ye  are  willing  to  receive  V/,  this  is  Elijah,  1  Or,  him 

15  which  is  to  come.     He  that  hath  ears  2to  hear,  ancSft 

16  let  him  hear.     But  whereunto  shall  I  liken  this  omiwJties 
generation  ?     It  is  like  unto  children  sitting  in       r' 
the  marketplaces,  which  call  unto  their  fellows, 

and  say,  We  piped  unto  you,  and  ye  did  not 

nearer  the  Kingdom  than  John,  though  not  yet  knowing  what 
spirit  they  were  of.  Dalman  {Words  of  Jesus,  p.  142^,  failing  to 
find  an  Aramaic  original  for  the  phrase,  urges  that  we  should  not 
give  it  a  meaning  contrary  to  the  general  tenor  of  the  teaching  of 
Jesus:  he  inclines  to  refer  the  violence  to  ruleis  and  other 
authorities  who  persecute  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  its  subjects  ; 
'take  it  by  force'  would  then  mean,  'seize  or  arrest  the  persons 
of  those  who  constitute  the  Kingdom  of  God.' 

But  Bruce  expresses  the  commoner  view :  the  violence  is 
approved  ;  it  represents  the  eager  rush  for  the  Kingdom  of  God, 
reflected  in  the  Gospel  narrative  (ver.  25,  ix.  9-12)  which  followed 
on  the  moral  reformation  of  John.  This  view  harmonizes  better 
with  ver.  11  and  ver.  13.  Until  John  the  Old  Testament  regime, 
the  prophets,  and  the  Law  continued.  With  him  the  new 
regime  began,  and  though  he  did  not  himself  belong  to  it,  the 
eager  entrance  into  the  kingdom,  the  production  of  others  greater 
than  himself,  was  due  to  him. 

14.  If  they  would  la}'  aside  prejudice  they  would  see  that  John 
was  the  Elijah  expected  on  account  of  Malachi's  prophecy 
(Mai.  iv.  5;  in  LXX,  'Elijah  the  Tishbite').  Jesus  stated  this 
even  more  explicitly  (Mark  ix.  11-13). 

15.  He  that  hath  ears.  The  first  use  in  the  Gospel  of  this  solemn 
formulary.  It  is  Christ's  thought  throughout  that  all  defects  lie  in 
the  recipient,  the  perCeiver.  If  we  would  see,  hear,  believe,  all 
truth,  all  power,  is  there. 

16-19.  The  perversity  of  our  human  judgements  in  the  estimate 
of  Divine  revelation  is  illustrated  by  a  homely  reference  to  a 
children's  game.  From  Luke  vii.  29-30  we  may  infer  that  by 
'this  generation  '  He  means  the  Pharisees  and  Scribes  in  contrast 
with  the  people.  The  people  as  a  whole  listened  to  John,  and  to 
Christ.     But  the  Pharisees  reject  both  (ix.  11)  ;  see  xii.  38-45. 

17.  When  these  words  are  put  back  into  Aramaic  they  appear 
as  a  song : 

We  played  and  you  would  not  dance, 
We  mourned  and  you  would  not  weep. 

The  value  of  the  illustration  for  us  is  not  so  much  its  aptness. 

H  2 


ioo  St.   MATTHEW  XT.   18,   19 

i  Gr.  heat  dance  ;  we  wailed,  and  ye  did  not  *  mourn.    For  18 

ihebreast.  j0j111  came  neither  eating  nor  drinking,  and  they 

demon.  say  pje  jj^  a  2  devil.     The  Son  of  man  came  19 

:<  Or,  was  J  ' 

1  Many  eating  and  drinking,  and  they  say,  Behold,  a 

authorities  gluttonous  man,  and  a  winebibber,  a  friend  of 

*chudreti :  publicans  and  sinners  !    And  wisdom  8  is  justified 


as  in  Luke 
vii.  35. 


bv  her  4  works. 


as  the  delightful  suggestion  it  gives  us  of  our  Lord's  observation 
of  children  at  their  play. 

18.  The  illustration  shows  the  perversity  and  waywardness  of 
mind  which,  resolved  to  reject  God  and  truth  in  every  form,  will 
have  an  objection  ready  for  the  most  opposite  forms  in  which  it 
may  come.  'John  came  neither  eating  nor  drinking.'  The 
negative  in  the  Greek  expresses  a  subjective  idea  ;  it  is  equivalent 
to  '  neither  (so  they  said)  eating  nor  drinking.'  It  was  a  charge, 
not  the  fact.  They  took  exception  to  his  asceticism  ;  he  was, 
they  declared,  deranged. 

19.  The  son  of  man.  The  title  is  used  significantly,  suggesting 
that  He  was  human,  genial,  fraternal.  And  they  charged  Him  with 
loose  living.  They  affixed  the  title  of  reproach  (cf.  ix.  11)  which 
has  been  taken  up  as  His  greatest  glory.  They  called  Him  a  friend 
of  publicans  and  sinners.     And  so  He  is. 

But  as  they  objected  to  botli  modes,  which  was  right  ?  Both 
were  right.  The  Prophet  and  the  Saviour,  the  Old  Testament 
and  the  New  Testament,  the  Forerunner  and  He  who  was  to 
come.  They  represent  the  two  processes  in  the  spiritual  life, 
'  repenting  and  believing  the  Gospel '.  To  reject  each  separately 
is  indeed  folly  :  for  the  two,  like  a  binary  star,  shed  their  true  light 
in  combination.  This  generation  of  Pharisees  had  shown  their 
folly  by  rejecting  John  ;  and  they  were  going  to  confirm  it  by 
rejecting  Jesus. 

wisdom  is  justified  by  her  works.  The  aorist  tense  is  what  is 
called  gnomic  ;  it  is  a  proverbial  saying.  Wisdom  shows  that  she 
is  wisdom  by  results.  To  fools  she  appears  folly  ;  and  even  to 
the  would-be-wise  her  ways  are  not  immediately  clear.  This 
wisdom  (Achamoth)  is  the  wisdom  of  God  :  cf.  Luke  xi.  49.  See 
Rom.  xi.  33  ;  1  Cor.  i.  21-4,  where  Christ  Himself  is  that  Wisdom. 
Also  Eph.  iii.  10  ;  Rev.  vii.  12.  The  alternative  reading,  'children  ' 
for  'works  ',  is  from  Luke  vii.  35.  Her  children  are  certainly  not 
the  Pharisees  ;  the  sons  of  the  Kingdom  are  cast  out  (viii.  12). 
They  are  those  enlightened  souls  to  whom  the  Kingdom  taken 
from  the  wise  is  given  (xi.  25).  The  paradox  is  that  the  wisdom 
of  men  is  often  found  to  be  elaborate  folly,  and  only  the  wisdom 
which  is  from  above  deserves  the  name.     But  the  wise  in  this 


St.  MATTHEW  XI.  20-22  ior 

20  Then  began  he  to  upbraid  the  cities  wherein 
most  of  his  1  mighty  works  were  done,  because  '  Gr. 

21  they  repented  not.  Woe  unto  thee,  Chorazin  ! 
woe  unto  thee,  Bethsaida  !  for  if  the  J  mighty 
works  had  been  done  in  Tyre  and  Sidon  which 
were  done  in   you,  they  would  have  repented 

22  long  ago  in  sackcloth  and  ashes.     Howbeit   I 

world   remain    strangely    ignorant    of  this ;    the   wise  by  whom 
Wisdom  is  justified,  are  often  the  babes. 

20-30.  The  contrast  between  those  who  reject  and  those 

WHO   RECEIVE   HlM. 

20-4.    THOSE  WHO  REJECT. 

20.  Then,  as  Matthew  arranges  his  material,  this  description  of 
the  cities  that  would  not  repent  follows  on  the  general  charge 
against  the  '  generation  '  that  would  not  receive  either  John  or 
John's  Lord.  'The  wise  and  understanding'  of  ver.  27  are  in 
contrast  with  the  '  wisdom  '  and  her  works,  or  children,  of 
ver.  19. 

the  cities.  These  towns  in  the  busy  district  of  Galilee  stand  for 
the  commercial  spirit,  which  is  too  absorbed  in  the  pursuit  of  gain 
to  have  ears  to  hear  Christ.  Though  some  few  from  these  towns 
gave  ear  to  Him  and  repented,  we  gather  that  the  community  as 
a  whole  remained  unmoved. 

21.  Chorazin,  not  mentioned  elsewhere,  must  have  been  on  the 
west  of  the  lake,  near  Capernaum  ;  perhaps  the  road  to  Tyre  ran 
through  it.  It  shows  how  few  details  we  have  of  Christ's  ministry, 
that  nothing  is  recorded  of  the  mighty  works  that  were  done  in  this 
town. 

Bethsaida,  on  the  east  shore,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Jordan  ; 
the  name  means  '  fishing-house ',  mentioned  Mark  vi.  45,  in 
connexion  with  the  'walking  on  the  sea1  ;  Mark  viii.  22,  in  con- 
nexion with  the  healing  of  the  blind  ;  Luke  ix.  10,  in  connexion 
with  the  feeding  of  the  multitude.  Bethsaida  therefore  had 
seen  mighty  works  done.  The  town  gave  the  Lord  three  of  His 
first  disciples — Andrew,  Simon  and  Philip.  And  yet  it  did  not 
repent. 

Tyre  and  Sidon,  as  great  commercial  cities,  had  been  de- 
nounced by  the  prophets  for  their  pride  and  luxury  (Amos  i.  9,  10  ; 
Isa.  xxiii  ;  Ezek.  xxvi,  xxviii  .  Yet  their  moral  hardness  was  not 
equal  to  that  of  Galilee. 

in  sackcloth  and  ashes,  the  signs  of  penitence  (Job  xiii.  6, 
Jonah  iii.  8).  As  cities  the  judgement  has  been  passed  with  an 
equal  severity  on  all.  For  the  wretched  remains  of  Tyre  and 
Sidon  are  no  more  '  tolerable  '  than  the  disappearance  of  Chorazin 
and  Bethsaida.     But  the  day  of  judgement  (Acts  xvii.  31)  points 


io2  St.  MATTHEW  XL  23,  24 

say  unto  you,  it  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  Tyre 
and  Sidon  in  the  day  of  judgement,  than  for 
1  Many  v°u-  And  thou,  Capernaum,  shalt  thou  be  ex-  23 
authorities  alte^  unto  heaven  ?  thou  shalt  'go  down  unto 
bought  Hades  :  for  if  the  -  mighty  works  had  been  done 
down.         m  g0(]om  which  were  done  in  thee,  it  would  have 

-  Gr. 

powers.      remained  until  this  day.     Howbeit  I  say  unto  24 
you,  that  it  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  the  land 
of  Sodom  in  the  day  of  judgement,  than  for  thee. 


to  the  doom  of  the  individuals  who  inhabited  the  cities.  And  the 
re£po*isibilit3r  of  having  seen  Christ  and  remained  impenitent  is 
greater  than  that  of  those  who  never  saw  His  earthly  day,  and 
will  confront  Him  first  in  His  heavenly  reign. 

23.  Capernaum.  The  question  '  shalt  thou  be  exalted  to  heaven  ? ' 
implies  that  in  the  expectation  of  the  inhabitants,  it  was  or  would 
be.  The  words  are  an  echo  of  what  is  said  of  Babylon  and  her 
king  in  Isa.  xiv.  13-14  ;  cf.  Lam.  ii.  1.  Grotius,  followed  by  some 
moderns,  like  De  Wette,  supposed  that  the  exaltation  was  the 
sense  of  abounding  prosperity.  Capernaum  was  the  Babylon,  or 
the  T3're,  of  Galilee  ;  she  considered  her  mercantile  supremacy 
secured.  The  thrusting  down  to  Hades  is  thus  the  same  fate  that 
was  predicted  for  the  other  commercial  queen,  Tyre,  in  Ezek.  xxvi. 
20.  At  Tel  Khum,  which  is  the  more  probable  site  of  Capernaum, 
more  probable  than  Khan  Minyeh,  a  mile  or  two  south,  the 
Franciscans,  who  now  guard  the  spot,  have  unearthed  the  ruins  of 
a  fine  Graeco-Roman  building,  which  one  is  tempted  to  identify 
with  the  synagogue  which  the  centurion  built.  The  writer, 
standing  among  those  ruins  in  the  blazing  heat,  sought  protection 
under  a  shrub,  which,  looking  up,  he  found  to  be  a  mustard-plant, 
and  putting  out  his  hand  to  pluck  what  appeared  to  be  an  ear  of 
barley,  he  discovered  that  it  was  a  tare. 

But  if  the  old  reading  '  thou  that  wast  exalted  to  heaven  '  might 
be  kept,  or  if  its  meaning  could  be  found  in  the  question,  we 
might  say  that  Capernaum  was  exalted  to  heaven  because,  as  the 
residence  of  Jesus,  it  was  the  most  favoured  spot  on  earth.  There 
He  lived  as  a  man  among  men,  and  the  whole  series  of  His 
miracles  was  unfolded  before  those  fortunate  eyes.  Even  Sodom 
would  have  repented  at  that  display  of  grace.  Dean  Stanley's 
suggestion  that  there  are  more  ruins  traceable  of  Sodom  by  the 
Dead  Sea  than  there  are  of  Capernaum,  would  hardly  cover  the 
idea  of  Sodom's  superiorit}'.  But  the  unspeakable  sins  of  Sodom 
were  not  in  Christ's  eyes  so  incurable,  or  beyond  repentance,  as 
the  callous  indifference  of  Capernaum. 

24.  the  land  of  Sodom  stands  for  the  people.     That  population 


St.  MATTHEW  XL  25-27  103 

25  At   that  season  Jesus  answered  and  said,   I 

1  thank  thee,  O  Father,   Lord  of  heaven  and  *  °r- 

'  '  praise 

earth,  that  thou  didst  hide  these  things  from  the 
wise  and  understanding,  and  didst  reveal  them 

26  unto  babes:  yea,   Father,  2for  so   it  was  well-  2°'"»  that 
37  pleasing    in   thy  sight.     All    things  have   been 

in  which  there  were  not  ten  righteous  will  receive  a  doom  bearable 
in  comparison  with  the  '  depart  from  me '  pronounced  on  the 
people  of  Capernaum.  This  is  the  most  solemn  verdict  of  Christ's 
consciousness  against  those  who  are  too  immersed  in  business  to 
come  to  Him. 

25-30.  Those  who  come  unto  Him. 

25.  At  that  season.  Cf.  Luke  x.  21,  22  ;  we  cannot  take  the  term 
as  a  specific  note  of  time  (^xii.  1).  At  the  most  it  means  'during 
that  Galilean  ministry '. 

answered.  As  it  stands  here,  the  '  answer '  seems  to  be  to  the 
general  neglect  and  rejection  of  His  ministry,  which  might  have 
produced  annoyance  or  remonstrance.  On  the  contrary  He  joy- 
fully (see  Luke)  accepts  the  law  of  His  Father's  will,  and  sees 
the  true  success  where  nothing  but  failure  appeared. 

/  thank  thee.  It  is  the  same  word  as  in  Ps.  lxxv.  1.  It  is  more 
than  our  common  thanks.  It  is  adoring  acquiescence — the 
unquestioning  and  absolute  acceptance  of  the  Father's  'good 
pleasure '  (ver.  26). 

Father.  Jesus  never  addresses  the  Father  in  the  form  He 
appoints  for  us.  'Our  Father  which  art  in  heaven  ' ;  but  only  as 
Father,  the  Father  (ver.  26),  or  my  Father  (xxvi.  39,  42). 

Lord  of  heaven  and  earth.  The  veil  lifts,  and  He  is  gazing 
on  the  majesty  of  God  ;  as  He  gazes,  our  eyes  follow  His  gaze, 
and  we,  too,  see  the  Supreme. 

these  things,  i.  e.  the  whole  burden  of  His  teaching  and  works, 
a  scandal  to  that  generation  and  the  subsequent  generations. 

the  ivise  and  understanding.  The  wise  are  the  philosophers, 
the  understanding  are  the  shrewd,  practical  men.  The  epithets 
were  designed  by  God  for  Israel  (Deut.  iv.  6) ;  who  were,  pre- 
sumably, the  'children  of  Wisdom'  (Luke  vii.  35).  But  their 
wisdom  had  become  blind  ;  their  understanding  was  perverted  ; 
Wisdom  was  justified  of  her  children,  in  disclaiming  them. 

babes.  He  thought  literally  of  children,  who  have  a  heavenly 
wisdom  before  they  are  darkened  b}7  the  wisdom  of  this  world. 
But  He  also  meant  those  who  retain  or  recover  their  childlikeness. 
There  is  a  childishness  which  we  must  outgrow  (1  Cor.  xiii.  11, 
xiv.  20  ;  Heb.  v.  13).  But  Jesus  is  thinking  of  the  childlikeness 
which  witnesses  to  our  origin  (xviii.  3). 

26.  zvell- pleasing.      For  this  good  pleasure  of  the   Father,  see 


io4  St.  MATTHEW  XL  28 

delivered  unto  me  of  my  Father :  and  no  one 
knoweth  the  Son,  save  the  Father ;  neither  doth 
any  know  the  Father,  save  the  Son,  and  he  to 
whomsoever  the  Son  willeth  to  reveal  him.  Come  2: 


Eph.  i.  5-9;  Phil.  ii.  13.  It  is  the  acceptance  of  God's  good 
pleasure  as  decisive  and  sufficient  that  gives  the  zest  to  the  joy  of 
Jesus  :  the  same  word,  in  its  verbal  form,  in  iii.  17. 

27.  Here  the  corporeal  Gospel,  as  the  Fathers  call  the  Synoptics 
in  contrast  with  the  Fourth  Gospel,  seems  to  speak  the  same 
language  as  the  spiritual  gospel. 

have  been  delivered.  The  word  suggests  the  '  tradition '  of 
which  Jewish  religion  consisted  ;  but  '  tradition  '  undergoes  a 
change  of  meaning  when  it  signifies  that  which  is  handed  down 
from  God  to  His  well-beloved  Son.  This  is  the  only  tradition  in 
which  the  soul  can  finally  rest.  The  'all  things1  include  not  only 
truths  of  doctrine,  but  power  and  authority  (xxviii.  18  ;  John  iii.  25, 
xvii.  2  ;  Eph.  i.  22).  This  absolute  use  of  Son  and  Father  occurs 
also  in  Mark  xiii.  32,  but  it  is  the  normal  language  of  the  Fourth 
Gospel. 

no  one  knoiveth  the  Son  save  the  Father.  Wellhausen  holds  this 
to  be  an  interpolation,  a  kind  of  balance  to  the  subsequent  clause. 
How  true  it  is  that  these  things  are  not  revealed  to  the  wise  ! 
It  was  the  sense  that  His  Father  alone  knew  Him  which  kept 
Him  so  calm  in  the  midst  of  universal  misunderstanding,  when  He 
was  called  a  glutton,  and  supposed  to  be  possessed  by  a  devil  ; 
when  John  the  Baptist  doubted  Him,  and  when  His  disciples  for- 
sook Him,  leaving  Him  alone,  yet  not  alone,  for  the  Father  was 
with  Him.  And  this  side  of  His  great  saying  each  one  of  us  can 
appropriate;  though  we  cannot  say,  'No  one  knoweth  the  Father, 
but  I,'  we  can  say  '  No  one  knoweth  me  but  the  Father'. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Son's  peculiar  knowledge  of  the  Father 
is  the  truth  which  rings  all  through  the  Fourth  Gospel  (i.  18, 
vi.  46,  vii.  29,  viii.  19,  x.  15,  xvii.  25).  It  is  the  intimate  revelation 
of  Christianity  (cf.  Heb.  i.  1).  And  the  power  He  has  to  reveal 
the  Father  to  men,  is  the  Gospel  (John  xvii.  26).  The  uniqueness 
of  Christ's  nature  is  here  unequivocally  stated.  We  can  become 
sons  of  God  mediately  through  Him.  He  is  intrinsically  the  Son 
of  God.  '  Nowhere  do  we  find  that  Jesus  called  Himself  the 
Son  of  God  in  such  a  sense  as  to  suggest  a  merely  religious  and 
ethical  relation  to  God — a  relation  which  others  also  actually 
possessed,  or  which  they  were  capable  of  attaining  or  destined 
to  acquire  '  (Dalman,  Words  ofjesits,  p.  287). 

To  ivhomsoever  the  Son  zvilleth.  That,  if  it  stood  alone,  as  it 
does  in  Luke,  might  fill  the  soul  with  apprehension.  For  it 
seems  to  impty  that  if  we  know  not  the  Father,  it  is  because  the 
Son  has  not  wished  to  reveal  Him  to  us.      But  here  at  least  all 


St.  MATTHEW  XI.  29  105 

unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden, 

19  and  I  will  give  you  rest.     Take  my  yoke  upon 

you,  and  learn  of  me ;  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly 

doubt  is  removed  ;  for  the  statement  of  Christ's  exclusive  know- 
ledge is  followed  at  once  by  His  universal  invitation. 

28.  Pfleiderer  dismisses  the  invitation  as  an  invention  concocted 
out  of  certain  Old  Testament  passages.  But,  as  Dr.  Bruce  says, 
this  passage  does  not  smell  of  the  lamp.  It  is  the  most  sponta- 
neous and  inevitable  exclamation  of  the  heart  of  the  Son,  whose 
function  it  is  to  show  men  the  Father. 

Its  significance  is  only  apprehended  when  the  parallelism  with 
Ecclus.  li.  23-7  is  pointed  out.1  There,  Jesus  ben  Sirach,  speaking 
in  the  name  of  Wisdom,  uses  the  words  which  form  the  ground- 
plan  of  our  passage  :  here  Jesus,  Son  of  God,  takes  the  words,  and 
as  the  Heavenly  Wisdom  gives  them  a  personal  meaning  which 
none  but  He  could  claim  ;  and  in  using  the  words  in  that  personal 
way,  He  shows  who  He  is. 

The  echo  of  such  Old  Testament  passages  as  Isa.  xiv.  3  ;  xxviii. 
12,  lv.  1-3  ;  Jer.  vi.  16,  xxxi.  2,  25  (^Ecclus.  vi.  24,  25,  28,  29  ; 
li.  23  7)  brings  out,  by  contrast,  the  wonder  of  Jesus  bidding  men 
come  to  Him  personally,  implying  that  He  is  the  Wisdom  of  God. 
But  no  one  could  have  compiled  these  few  words  and  put  them 
into  His  mouth,  unless  it  were  one  who  had  learnt  from  His  own 
lips  who  He  is. 

heavy  laden,  with  the  burdens  of  the  Jewish  law  (xxiii.  4.) 
and  its  false  traditions  (Mark  vii.  6-13  ,  contrasted  with  the  new 
tradition  of  living  Godship.  Or  the  burdens  may  be  more  general 
— it  is  sorrowful,  overdone,  humanity,  that  the  Son  comes  to  bring 
into  His  rest. 

29.  my  yoke  ;  the  yoke  which  Christ  lays  on  the  soul.  This  is, 
perhaps,  His  teaching,  as  in  Ecclus.  li.  26.  But  it  may  be  His 
authority,  as  Yokhanan  ben  Zakkai  (a. d.  80)  speaks  of  'the 
yoke  of  the  heavenly  sovereignty  \  in  contrast  with  '  the  yoke  of 
flesh  and  blood  '  (Dalman,  Words  of  Jesus,  p.  92). 

meek  and  lowly  in  heart,  i.  e.  ready  to  accommodate  Himself 
to  '  babes  '.     Martineau  suspects  the  words,  because  they  seem  to 

1  Draw  near  unto  me,  ye  unlearned, 
And  lodge  in  the  house  of  instruction. 

Put  your  neck  under  the  yoke, 

And  let  your  soul  receive  instruction. 

Behold  with  your  eyes, 

How  that   I  laboured  but  a  little, 

And  found  for  myself  much  rest. 


io6  St.  MATTHEW  XL  30— XII.  2 

in  heart :  and  ye  shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls. 
For  my  yoke  is  easy,  and  my  burden  is  light.       so 
At  that  season  Jesus  went  on  the  sabbath  day  12 
through  the  cornfields ;  and  his  disciples  were 
an  hungred,  and  began  to  pluck  ears  of  corn, 
and  to  eat.     But  the  Pharisees,  when  they  saw  a 
it,  said  unto  him,  Behold,  thy  disciples  do  that 
which  it  is  not  lawful  to  do  upon  the  sabbath. 

him  incompatible  with  the  humility  of  Jesus.  But  He,  if  no  one 
else,  could  reach  the  lowliness  of  heart  which  can  describe  itself 
accurately.  It  would  be  more  reasonable  to  reject  the  words 
because  one  who  alone  knew  the  Father  and  was  able  to  reveal 
Him  could  hardly  be  'lowly'.  But  that  is  the  moral  miracle  of 
Jesus,  the  Divine  Greatness  in  the  form  of  an  absolute  lowliness 
(Phil.  ii.  6-8).  The  j'oke  is  not  the  attempt  to  imitate  Jesus,  nor 
is  the  burden  that  which  He  bore.  But  coming  to  Him  and 
learning  of  Him,  we  find  the  yoke  of  His  obedience  easy,  and  the 
burden  of  allegiance  to  Him  light. 

Ch.  xii.     The  weary  and  heavy-laden  come  to  Him,  and  are 

WELCOMED  AS  HlS  MOTHER  AND  BRETHREN.  THE  WISE  AND  UNDER- 
STANDING, the  Pharisees,   harden  into  an  opposition  which 

BECOMES  MURDEROUS. 

1-21.  Jesus  appears  as  Lord  of  the  Sabbath.  His  withdrawal 
from  the  wrath  of  the  Pharisees  gives  the  evangelist  occasion  to 
sketch  His  portrait  in  the  words  of  Isa.  xlii.  1-3. 

1-8.  The  Sabbath  was  the  idol  of  contemporary  Pharisaism.  It 
had  become,  instead  of  an  aid  to  religion,  a  tyrannical  burden  to 
souls.  The  Son  of  Man  was  bound  to  rescue  the  institution  from 
its  degradation  and  to  reassert  its  spiritual  significance.  The  first 
occasion  of  doing  this  necessary  work  was  a  breach  of  Sabbath 
rigorism  which  only  a  very  watchful  enmity  would  have  observed. 
It  was  the  end  of  March,  the  time  of  the  barley  harvest,  and  of 
Passover.  Perhaps  we  may  connect  the  season  with  John  v.  1. 
It  was,  says  Luke  vi.  1,  the  first-second  Sabbath,  if  that  inexplic- 
able adjective  is  not,  as  Bruce  thinks,  a  gloss.  It  was  legal  to 
pluck  ears  in  passing  through  a  cornfield,  though  not  to  use  a 
sickle  (Deut.  xxiii.  25).  But  to  do  so  on  the  Sabbath  seemed  to 
Pharisaism  outrageous,  for  it  was  a  kind  of  reaping.  So  in  Scot- 
land at  one  time  the  use  of  a  razor  on  Sunday  was  forbidden  as  a 
kind  of  reaping.  To  rub  the  ears  in  the  hand  (Luke)  was  a 
kind  of  threshing. 

1.  They  hungered,  not  He.  He  always  had  meat  which  they 
knew  not  of. 

2.  that  which  it  is  not  lawful  to  do.     The  Law  was  silent  on 


St.  MATTHEW  XII.  3-7  107 

3  But  lit  said  unto  them,  Have  ye  not  read  what 
David  did,  when  he  was  an  hungred,  and  they 

4  that  were  with  him  ;  how  he  entered  into  the 
house  of  God,  and  '  did  eat   the   shewbread,  '  So.mc 

ancient 

which  it  was  not  lawful  for  him  to  eat,  neither  authorities 

read  they 

for  them  that  were  with  him,  but  only  for  the  did  eat. 
I  priests  ?     Or  have  ye  not  read  in  the  law,  how 
that  on  the  sabbath  day  the  priests  in  the  temple 

6  profane  the  sabbath ,  and  are  guiltless?     But  I 

say  unto  you,  that  2  one  greater  than  the  temple  -  Gr.  a 

7  is  here.    But  if  ye  had  known  what  this  meaneth,  tAinJ.r 
I  desire  mercy,  and  not  sacrifice,  ye  would  not 


the  point.     But  Jesus   prefers    to  cite  positive   and  unexpected 
examples  rather  than  to  use  the  silence  of  Scripture. 

3.  Have yc  not  read?  so  xxi.  16.  They  had  read  the  Scriptures 
with  blind  eyes.  1  Sam.  xxi.  6  tells  how  David  went  alone  to 
Abimelech — yet  it  was  in  the  lifetime  of  David's  friend  Abiathar, 
as  Mark  says  (ii.  26  marg.)  —  but  it  is  implied  that  '  they  that 
were  with  him  '  ate  too.  The  shewbread  might  only  be  eaten  by 
the  priests  (Ex.  xxv.  30  ;  Lev.  xxiv.  5-9). 

4.  Entering  into  the  house  of  God  was  a  violation  of  the 
regulations,  still  more  so  was  the  eating  of  the  shewbread  ; 
perhaps  also  it  was  on  the  Sabbath  day.  The  instance  shows 
how  the  strictest  ordinances  of  the  cultus  might  give  way  to  a  real 
necessity,  and  God,  who  loves  mercy  more  than  sacrifice,  will 
approve. 

5.  This  more  general  instance  is  not  in  Mark  \\\.  23,  27),  who, 
on  the  other  hand,  gives  us  the  saying  which  is  not  here,  '  the 
Sabbath  was  made  for  man  and  not  man  for  the  Sabbath.'  The 
priests  defile  the  Sabbath,  if  these  necessary  acts  of  utility  are 
profanation,  by  killing  the  lamb  for  the  morning  and  evening 
sacrifice  (Num.  xxviii.  9.  10),  by  setting  the  shewbread  on  the 
table  (Lev.  xxiv.  8  ;  1  Chron.  ix.  32),  and  by  circumcizing  on  that 
day,  if  it  was  the  eighth  day  after  birth. 

6.  greater  than  the  temple— or  'something  greater'.  If  the 
former,  He  Himself,  cf.  ver.  41,  42  ;  and  see  in  John  ii.  21  how  He 
speaks  of  Himself  as  the  Temple.  But  the  something  greater 
may  be  the  Law  of  Love  referred  to  in  ver.   7. 

7.  His  favourite  quotation  from  Hos.  vi.  6  (see  ix.  13),  the  echo 
of  Mic.  vi.  6-8.  It  was  shocking  to  Him  that  the  so-called  law  of 
God  should  forbid  the  hungry  to  eat. 


108  St.  MATTHEW  XII.  8-12 

have  condemned  the  guiltless.     For  the  Son  of  8 
man  is  lord  of  the  sabbath. 

And  he  departed  thence,  and  went  into  their  9 
synagogue  :  and  behold,  a  man  having  a  withered  10 
hand.     And  they  asked  him,  saying,  Is  it  lawful 
to  heal  on  the  sabbath  day?  that  they  might 
accuse  him.    And  he  said  unto  them,  What  man  11 
shall  there  be  of  you,  that  shall  have  one  sheep, 
and  if  this  fall  into  a  pit  on  the  sabbath  day, 
will  he  not  lay  hold  on  it,  and  lift  it  out?     How  12 
much  then  is  a  man  of  more  value  than  a  sheep  ! 


8.  This  inexhaustible  oracle  deepens  in  meaning  as  we  read 
into  '  the  Son  of  Man  '  all  its  possible  references.  As  Christ,  He 
can  claim  the  institution  of  the  Sabbath  ;  it  is  His  prerogative  to 
own  it,  to  interpret  it,  to  preside  over  it,  to  ennoble  it,  to  enlarge 
it  into  the  Lord's  day  (Rev.  i.  10).  As  the  typical  man.  embodied 
humanity,  he  insists  on  making  the  institution  human.  Chrysos- 
tom  perceived  this  bearing  of  the  words  when  he  commented  : 
•  He  was  speaking  about  Himself,  but  Mark  saj'S  that  He  spoke 
about  our  common  nature ',   referring  to  Mark  ii.  27. 

9-14.  On  another  Sabbath  (Luke  vi.  6  He  healed  a  withered 
hand. 

10.  The  man,  according  to  the  Gospel  of  the  Hebrews,  and 
Jerome,  was  a  mason.  As  he  could  not  work  on  the  Sabbath, 
the  cure  might  have  been  postponed  till  next  day.  In  Mark 
(iii.  2)  they  watched  malignantly,  here  they  ask  expressly  if  the 
cure  may  be  wrought  on  the  Sabbath. 

11.  The  illustration  of  the  sheep  is  used  again  by  Jesus  in 
Luke  xiv.  1-6.  In  the  Talmud,  perhaps  in  order  to  censure  His 
use  of  the  illustration,  it  is  written  that  if  an  animal  falls  into 
the  ditch  on  the  Sabbath,  provided  it  is  in  no  danger,  it  shall  be 
left  there.  The  question  of  Jesus  lays  a  stress  on  the  '  man'  as 
if  He  meant  '  Which  of  you  with  the  feelings  of  a  man  will  leave 
an  animal  in  a  pit  ? '  A  righteous  man  regardeth  the  life  of  his 
beast  (Prov.  xii.  10). 

12.  Mark  iii.  5  tells  us  that  the  words  were  hot  with  indignation  ; 
but  Matthew  tends  to  tone  down  the  human  traits  in  Jesus.  The 
supreme  value  of  humanity  was  with  Jesus  an  axiom,  to  man  him- 
self it  is  a  hard  discovery.  He  goes  right  to  a  spiritual  instinct, 
past  all  laws  and  institutions  ;  and  it  is  the  force  of  that  appeal 
which  exasperates  the  objectors.  God  docs  good  on  the  Sabbath 
(John  v.  16-17),  therefore  Christ  must,  therefore  man  may. 


St.   MATTHEW  XII.   13-18  109 

Wherefore  it  is  lawful  to  do  good  on  the  sabbath 

13  day.     Then  saith  he  to  the  man,  Stretch  forth 
thy  hand.    And  he  stretched  it  forth  ;  and  it  was 

14  restored  whole,  as  the  other.     But  the  Pharisees 
went  out,  and  took  counsel  against   him,  how 

15  they  might  destroy  him.     And  Jesus  perceiving 
it  withdrew  from   thence :   and  many  followed 

16  him  ;  and  he  healed  them  all,  and  charged  them 

17  that  they  should  not  make  him  known:  that  it 
might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  !  by  Isaiah  '°r.     . 

°  l  J  through 

the  prophet,  saying, 

18  Behold,  my  servant  whom  I  have  chosen  ; 
My  beloved  in  whom  my  soul  is  well  pleased  : 
I  will  put  my  Spirit  upon  him. 

And  he  shall  declare  judgement  to  the  Gen- 
tiles. 


13.  And  yet  He  did  not  violate  even  the  most  rigid  rules  of 
Pharisaism,  for,  after  all,  He  healed  the  arm  by  a  word.  Thus 
it  was  evident  that  the  work,  if  work  it  was,  was  God's  ;  and 
to  bring  accusation  against  Him  was  to  bring  it  against  His 
heavenly  Father.  The  life-giving  word  of  Jesus  is  an  actual  force  : 
it  is  creative  vHeb.  xi.  3}  as  well  as  restorative.  No  material 
resistance  can  avail  against  it. 

14.  This  evidence  of  His  union  with  God,  and  of  the  Divine 
love  at  work,  was  irresistible.  But  determined  prejudice  against 
truth  is  onty  irritated  by  additional  evidence.  And  this  act  of 
mercy  decided  the  Pharisees  (and  the  Herodians,  says  Mark  iii.  6) 
to  kill  Him. 

15-21.  As  Jesus  withdraws  to  escape  the  plots  to  kill  Him 
(to  the  sea,  says  Mark),  the  evangelist  takes  the  opportunity  to 
draw  His  portrait,  and  to  present  all  the  activities  which  have 
been  described,  in  a  loose  quotation  of  Isa.  xlii.  1-6,  a  quotation 
not  taken  from  the  Hebrew  nor  from  the  Greek  (LXX  .  but  perhaps 
from  the  Chaldee  Targum  (Lutteroth). 

16.  This  is  a  condensation  of  Mark's  far  fuller  epitome  of  His 
work  (iii.  7-12 ). 

18-21.  In  contrast  with  the  distorted  image  of  Jesus  in  the 
minds  of  the  Pharisees,  here  is  the  real  Jesus,  foreseen  in  the 
mind  of  an  old  prophet.  The  evangelist  is  surprised  at  the 
closeness  of  the  delineation.     He  understands  the  withdrawal, 


no  St.  MATTHEW  XII.   19-21 

He  shall  not  strive,  nor  cry  aloud  ;  19 

Neither  shall  any  one  hear  his  voice  in  the 

streets. 
A  bruised  reed  shall  he  not  break,  30 

And  smoking  flax  shall  he  not  quench, 
Till  he  send  forth  judgement  unto  victory. 
And  in  his  name  shall  the  Gentiles  hope.         2l 


and  the  injunction  not  to  make  him  known,  as  the  fulfilment  of 
that  clause  in  the  prophecy  which  seemed  at  first  most  unsuitable 
to  describe  one  whose  message  and  work  must  go  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth  (ver.  19).  He  sees  in  the  opposition  of  the  Jewish 
leaders  the  preparation  for  a  world-wide  evangel  (ver.  18,  21). 
He  drops  out  the  words  of  Isa.  xlii.  4,  l  He  shall  not  fail  nor  be  dis- 
couraged,' because  his  eyes  are  exclusively  on  Christ's  gentle  and 
encouraging  way  with  others  (ver.  20). 

This  beautiful  description  follows  the  events  which  have  been 
up  to  this  point  described  by  the  evangelist.  The  opening  words 
of  ver.  18  point  to  the  baptism  (iii.  13-17)  ;  ver.  19  seems  to 
describe  the  gentleness  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  (v-vii)  ; 
ver.  20  describes  the  healing  ministry  to  discouraged  and 
broken  people,  with  His  favourite  word  *  be  of  good  cheer'; 
ver.  21  points  to  the  ingathering  of  Gentiles,  e.g.  the  centurion 
(viii.  5-13). 

But  the  words  cover  far  more  than  the  incidents  which  have 
been  recorded.  Their  meaning  is  only  apprehended  when  we 
trace  the  actual  wrork  of  Christ  in  the  Spirit.  Looking  back  on 
what  Christ  has  done  in  the  world,  and  forward  to  what  He 
is  yet  to  do,  one  cannot  but  marvel  that  the  words  of  an  ancient 
prophet  should  so  long  beforehand  anticipate  the  spiritual  influence 
of  Christ,  to  the  end  of  time. 

The  description  of  the  nature  of  Christ  as  the  chosen  servant, 
and  the  beloved  of  God,  on  whom  the  Spirit  is  put,  is  the  most 
satisfactory  solution  of  the  mysterious  personality  that  we  can 
obtain.  The  assertion  that  He  will  be  the  hope  of  the  Gentiles, 
and  will  bring  judgement  to  them,  and  never  cease  until  His 
judgement  issues  in  victory  (or  truth,  according  to  LXX),  explains 
the  missionary  element  of  Christianity  which  may  slumber,  but 
never  dies.  The  stillness  and  inwardness  of  His  work,  in 
contrast  with  the  noise,  the  self-advertisement,  the  contentiousness 
of  His  followers,  recall  His  followers  to  their  original.  And  the 
heart  of  mercy  which  uttered  the  great  invitation  of  xi.  28,  is 
perfectly  explained  in  the  promise  that  He  will  not  crush  the 
weak,  the  dispirited,  the  contrite  ;  nor  will  He  quench  even  the 
faintest  hope  of  good  in  any  human  soul. 

If  the  evangelist  had  drawn  the  portrait  in  his  own  words  it 


St.  MATTHEW  XII.  22-25  in 

22  Then  was  brought  unto  him  1one  possessed  «  or,  a 
with  a  devil,  blind  and  dumb  :  and  he  healed 
him,  insomuch  that  the  dumb  man  spake  and 

23  saw.     And  all  the  multitudes  were  amazed,  and 

24  said,  Is  this  the  son  of  David  ?  But  when  the 
Pharisees  heard  it,  they  said,  This  man  doth  not 
cast  out  2 devils,  but  3by  Beelzebub  the  prince  2Gr. 

.  demons. 

25  of  the  2  devils.     And  knowing  their  thoughts  he  1  or,  in 
said  unto  them,  Every  kingdom  divided  against 


would  have  been  sufficiently  impressive,  but  to  find  the  exact 
portrait  drawn  for  him  in  the  marvellous  book  of  the  exile  written 
five  centuries  before,  brings  home  to  us  with  a  shock  of  revelation 
who  He  is  that  is  thus  portrayed. 

22-37.  The  contrast  between  the  Jesus  of  prophecy  and 
fact  (ver.  i8-2i\  and  the  Jesus  of  the  Pharisees'  perverse 

FANCY. 

The  Pharisees  commit  the  unpardonable  sin. 

22.  one  possessed  with  a  devil,  blind  and  dumb.  It  may  be 
the  same  incident  as  ix.  32-4  :  cf.  Luke  xi.  14,  for  differences  of 
detail ;  here  repeated  to  introduce  the  malicious  charge  of  the 
Pharisees  and  its  refutation  (see  ix.  34\  From  the  parallel  in 
Mark  iii.  30,  where  the  libel  is  rebutted  without  any  specific 
narrative  of  the  cure,  we  gather  that  the  expose  of  the  Pharisees 
was  made  in  the  presence  of  a  multitude,  and  at  the  time  when 
Jesus's  own  relatives  had  come  to  arrest  Him,  thinking  He  was 
'  beside  himself  (cf.  2  Cor.  v.  13). 

23.  Is  this?  The  form  of  the  question  in  the  Greek  implies 
a  negative  answer.  They  think  He  may  be  Messias,  but  are 
afraid  to  offend  the  Pharisees  by  saying  so  :  cf.  the  question  of 
the  woman  (John  iv.  29)  and  that  of  the  blind  man  (John  ix.  27). 

the  son   of  David.     Messias,    ix.   27,    xxi.    9,   15   (cf.    Mark 
xi.  10). 

24.  In  Mark's  account  the  Pharisees  had  come  down  frotn 
Jerusalem  to  watch  and  to  report,  not  to  act ;  for  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Sanhedrin  did  not  extend  to  Galilee.  It  was  agreed  to 
parry  the  effect  of  Jesus's  cures  by  saying  that  they  were  wrought 
by  the  personal  prince  of  evil  spirits,  in  whose  existence  and 
activity  the  popular  religion  of  the  time  implicitly  believed. 

25.  So  Luke  xii.  17  :  '  Knowing  (not  only  their  words,  but 
also)  their  thoughts,'  viz.  that  they  did  not  believe  their  own 
theory,  but  invented  it  in  order  to  discredit  Him.  The  argument 
He  advances  is,  like  all  His  teaching,  an  appeal  to  common  sense 


ri2  St.  MATTHEW  XII.   26-29 

itself  is  brought  to  desolation  ;  and  every  city 
or  house  divided  against  itself  shall  not  stand : 
and  if  Satan  casteth  out  Satan,  he  is  divided  26 
against   himself;   how  then   shall   his   kingdom 
1  Or,  in      stand  ?   And  if  I  *  by  Beelzebub  cast  out  -  devils,  2  7 
-  Gr.  1  by  wi10m  do  your  sons  cast  them  out  ?  there- 

demons.  J  J 

fore  shall  they  be  your  judges.    But  if  I  1  by  the  28 
Spirit  of  God  cast  out  2  devils,  then  is  the  king- 
dom of  God  come  upon  you.     Or  how  can  one  29 
enter  into  the  house  of  the  strong  ?na?i,  and  spoil 
his  goods,  except  he  first  bind  the  strong  man  ? 


against  prejudice.  A  divided  kingdom,  city,  or  house,  is  ruined. 
If  Satan  casts  out  Satan,  there  is  an  end  of  the  power  of  dark- 
ness.    The  theory  is  shown  to  be  absurd. 

27.  But  He  pushes  them  farther. 

your  sous.  According  to  a  familiar  Hebrew  idiom,  sons  are 
they  who  are  of  a  cognate  disposition,  e.  g.  '  the  sons  of  the  king- 
dom '  and  'the  sons  of  the  evil  one1,  xiii.  38,  so  '  the  sons  of 
those  who  slew  the  prophets  *  (Matt,  xxiii.  31).  We  may  com- 
pare Acts  xiii.  10,  'son  of  the  devil,'  and  2  Kings  vi.  32.  So  the 
Rabbis  spoke  of  '  a  son  of  the  age  to  come  '  or  '  the  sons  of  the 
upper  room  (the  heavenly  world),'  Their  sons,  then,  people  who 
agreed  with  the  Pharisees,  were  exorcists.  By  incantation  and 
formulae  they  attempted  to  heal  the  insane.  Did  they  work  by 
Beelzebub  ?  That  of  course  they  would  not  say  :  their  own  '  sons  ' 
would  condemn  them  if  they  said  so.  But  how  could  they  suggest 
that  when  Jesus  was  doing,  more  effectually,  what  they  did,  He 
was  an  agent  of  Satan  ?  The  prejudice  of  the  theory  was 
exposed. 

28.  But  if  I  by  the  Spirit,  &c.  That  is  the  only  alternative. 
There  are  only  two  powers  — God  and  Satan,  Good  and  Evil.  For 
'  Spirit  of  God  ',  the  Aramaic  original  would  be  '  the  Holy  Spirit ', 
cf.  x.  20 ;  Luke  has  '  finger  of  God ',  referring  to  the  Divine 
Power,  rather  than  the  Divine  indwelling.  'The  Kingdom  of 
God'  is  not  only  near  (x.  7),  but  is  come!  It  has,  in  the  person 
of  the  Messias,  alighted  upon  them  !  The  power  of  Jesus  against 
evil  spirits  makes  the  theocracy  recognizable  even  to  outward 
vision;  and  they  deny  it. 

29.  Strong  is  Satan,  but  the  stronger  is  here,  who  binds  the 
owner  of  the  world  and  spoils  thoroughly  his  goods.  The  Son 
of  Man  is  manifested  to  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil.  The 
parable  suggests  Isa.  xlix.  24-5. 


St.   MATTHEW  XII.  3C-32  [13 

30  and  then  he  will  spoil  his  house.    He  that  is  not 
with  me  is  against  me ;  and  he  that  gathereth 

31  not  with  me  scattereth.     Therefore  I  say  unto 

you,  Every  sin  and  blasphemy  shall  be  forgiven  1  Some 

1  unto  men  ;  but  the  blasphemy  against  the  Spirit  authorities 

1  ,ead  nn{0 

3 l  shall    not   be    forgiven.     And   whosoever  shall  you  men. 


30.  The  sayings  that  follow  are  perhaps  attached  to  the 
preceding  on  Matthew's  principle  of  grouping;  in  Luke  xi.  23-6 
a  different  sequence  is  given.  If  this  be  so  we  need  not  torture 
the  words  to  find  connexion  between  this  verse  and  ver.  29. 

He  that  is  not  with  me  describes  a  half-hearted  follower, 
rather  than  avowed  opponents  like  the  Pharisees.  It  is  the  note 
of  exclusiveness  in  the  service  of  Christ  which  we  heard  in 
x.  37.  Because  Christ  is  one  with  God,  and  God  is  one,  whoever 
is  not  with  Christ  will  scatter  instead  of  gathering.  The  converse 
side  of  the  paradox  (Mark  ix.  40)  states  '  he  that  is  not  against  us, 
or  you,  is  for  us '  ;  there  the  personal  claim  of  Christ  is  in  the 
background. 

31.  Therefore.  This  connexion  is  not  given  in  Mark  iii.  28, 
nor  in  Luke  xii.  10,  where  the  saying  stands  quite  isolated. 
Here  the  illative  particle  must  refer  to  the  whole  paragraph,  and 
the  assertion  of  the  Pharisees  that  Jesus  cast  out  devils  by 
Beelzebub.  This  is  brought  out  in  Mark  iii.  30  by  the  words 
1  because  they  said,  He  hath  an  unclean  spirit '. 

Perhaps  Wellhausen  is  right  in  saying  that  Mark's  is  the 
original  version  of  this  hard  saying  ;  if  so,  the  eye  should  be 
kept  on  Mark  iii.  28-30,  in  expounding  it.  In  Mark  the  phrase 
'sons  of  men'  occurs,  but  not  the  specific  Son  of  Man;  which 
raises  the  question  whether  in  the  words  of  Jesus  a  contrast 
between  the  Son  of  Man  and  the  Spirit  was  made.  It  seems,  as 
Dalman  says,  impossible  that  Jesus  should  make  a  distinction 
between  two  persons  in  the  Godhead,  and  imply  that  it  was 
venial  to  blaspheme  the  second,  but  not  the  third.  The  distinction 
must  be  between  Jesus  the  man  and  the  Divine  Spirit  working 
through  Him.  Invective  against  the  man  Jesus  may  be  forgiven  ; 
blasphemy  against  the  divine  power  inherent  in  Him  is  un- 
pardonable, because  it  is  blasphemy  against  God. 

The  stress  is  to  be  laid  on  the  truth,  the  great  truth  of  the 
Gospel,  that  all  sins  can  be  forgiven  (cf.  Acts  xiii.  38,  39  ;  Rom. 
iii.  22-4  ;  1  John  i.  7,  &c).  But  there  is  something  which  lies  in 
another  category  altogether  ;  as  an  act  of  spiritual  suicide  it  is 
irreparable,  it  cannot  be  forgiven  here  nor  hereafter.  Blasphemy 
against  Jesus  (e.g.  that  of  Saul  of  Tarsus)  is  forgiven.  The  repudia- 
tion which  tormented  Bunyan's  conscience,  '  If  Christ  will  go,  let 
him  ! '  and  seemed  to  him  for  so  long  the  unpardonable  sin,  was 

I 


ii4  St.  MATTHEW  XII.   33-36 

speak  a  word  against  the  Son  of  man,  it  shall  be 

forgiven  him  ;  but  whosoever  shall  speak  against 

the  Holy  Spirit,  it  shall  not   be  forgiven  him, 

i  Or,  age     neither  in  this  1  world,  nor  in  that  which  is  to 

come.     Either  make  the  tree  good,  and  its  fruit  33 
good ;  or  make  the   tree  corrupt,  and  its  fruit 
corrupt :  for  the  tree  is  known  by  its  fruit.     Ye  34 
offspring  of  vipers,  how  can  ye,  being  evil,  speak 
good  things?  for  out  of  the  abundance  of  the 
heart  the  mouth  speaketh.     The  good  man  out  35 
of  his  good  treasure  bringeth  forth  good  things  : 
and  the  evil  man  out  of  his  evil  treasure  bringeth 
forth  evil  things.      And  I  say  unto  you,   that  3G 
every  idle  word  that  men  shall  speak,  they  shall 
give  account  thereof  in  the  day  of  judgement. 

forgiven.  But  the  act  which,  it  seems,  was  perpetrated  by  the 
Pharisees  is  different ;  it  involves  the  perpetrator  in  '  aeonian 
sin '  (Mark  iii.  29).  Briefly  this  fateful  act,  which,  the  apostles 
taught,  is  beyond  pardon  (Heb.  x.  26-9;  1  John  v.  16,  17)  is  to 
see  the  working  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  recognize  it,  and  to  know 
it  to  be  God.  as  the  Pharisees  did  (for  so  Jesus  read  their 
thoughts),  and  then  to  say  that  this  was  the  work  of  Satan. 
With  that  fatal  utterance  the  soul  slays  itself. 

33.  This  recalls  the  saying  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  (vii. 
16-20).  It  is  thrown  in  here  to  suggest  that  the  Pharisees 
were  acting  according  to  their  acquired  nature,  producing  the 
natural  fruit  of  the  wicked  root. 

34.  offspring  of  vipers.  So  John  called  them  iii.  7).  The 
speech  is  only  the  overflow  of  the  thought. 

35.  Luke  gives  this  saying  in  his  version  of  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  (vi.  45).     The  '  treasure '  is  the  heart  itself. 

36.  This  solemn  saying  is  not  in  the  other  sources  ;  in  this 
connexion  it  clinches  the  doom  of  the  Pharisees,  whose  'idle 
word '  was  the  blasphemy  against  the  Spirit.  Though  standing 
alone  in  the  Gospels  its  echoes  are  caught  through  the  rest  of 
the  New  Testament  (Eph.  v.  4,  11  ;  2  Pet.  ii.  18  ;  Rom.  xiv.  12  ; 
1  Pet.  iv.  5  ;  Jas.  iii.  2-12). 

Words  as  actual  deeds  are  causes.  Oddly  enough  the  '  idle ' 
means  literally  '  without  deed ',  and  perhaps  we  should  press  the 
meaning :  every  ivord,  though  unaccompanied  by  deeds ;  cf. 
v.  21-37. 


St.  MATTHEW  XII.   37-3D  115 

37  For  by  thy  words  thou  shalt  be  justified,  and  by 

thy  words  thou  shalt  be  condemned. 
3S      Then   certain   of  the  scribes  and    Pharisees 

answered  him,  saying,  l  Master,  we  would  see  a  LPri, 
39  sign  from  thee.     But  he  answered  and  said  unto 

them,  An  evil  and  adulterous  generation  seeketh 

after  a  sign  :  and  there  shall  no  sign  be  given  to 

How  solemn  it  is  !  Not  only  a  blasphemous  and  soul-killing 
word,  like  that  of  the  Pharisees,  but  every  word  we  utter  must 
come  up  in  the  review  of  our  lives  and  the  verdict  on  them, 
because  the  words  are  a  great  part  of  our  activity  ;  they  go  out 
from  us  accomplishing  results  as  tangible  as  the  work  of  our 
hands  or  the  books  produced  from  the  brain.  We  in  our  limited 
way  say  '  litera  scripta  manet',  but  Christ  in  His  searching  way 
adds  :  '  the  unwritten  letter  also  remains.' 

It  is  not  to  the  point  to  wonder  how  the  words  can  be  recorded 
for  the  Supreme  Court ;  for  there  is  an  equal  difficulty  in  conceiving 
how  our  deeds,  and  how  the  countless  lives  of  men,  can  be  held 
in  memory  and  come  up  for  review.  There  is  a  phonograph 
all-recording  :  words  spoken  in  the  air  will  be  proclaimed  from 
the  housetops  of  the  universe  ;  and  in  daily  living  and  use  of  the 
tongue  we  must  lay  our  account  with  this  certainty. 

38-50.  The  contrast  between  the  evil,  adulterous  genera- 
tion, AND  THE  GENUINE,  HOLY  GENERATION,  THE  BROTHERS.  SISTERS, 
AND  MOTHER  OF  JESUS. 

38-42.  we  ivould  see  a  sign.  Luke  xi.  16  shows  that  they  were 
another  set  of  the  Pharisaic  opposition,  and  not  the  same  who 
charged  Him  with  employing  the  power  of  Beelzebub.  In  xvi.  1 
they  ask  for  '  a  sign  from  heaven  '.  The  healing  of  the  demoniacs 
was.  according  to  them,  a  sign  from  hell.  In  Mark  viii.  II,  12 
the  demand  is  briefly  dismissed,  but  according  to  Luke  xi.  29-32 
the  sign  of  Jonah  was  given,  viz.  his  successful  preaching  to 
Nineveh,  and  then  the  Queen  of  Sheba.  But  here  the  sign  of 
Jonah  means  in  the  first  instance  the  illustration  of  Jesus's  resur- 
rection from  the  sojourn  of  the  prophet  in  the  whale.  And 
strictly  speaking  it  is  only  that  which  constitutes  in  any  sense 
a  'sign'.  When  he  arose  from  the  dead,  that  sign  would  be 
intelligible  (cf.  John  ii.  19). 

38.  Master,  i.e.  Teacher,  in  mock  deference,  but  it  is  like  that 
in  xxvii.  27-31.  Men  who  could  think  that  His  cures  were  the 
work  of  Satan,  could  not  in  good  faith  ask  for  a  sign  from  heaven. 
Therefore  it  would  not  be  given. 

39.  Adulterous  generation,  i.e.  a  group  of  men  who  had 
departed  from  God,  as  described  by  the  prophet  Jeremiah 
(Hi.  20. 

I  2 


n6 


St.  MATTHEW  XII.  40-43 


1  Gr.  sea- 
monster. 


2Gr. 

more 
than. 


Or,  it 


it  but  the  sign  of  Jonah  the  prophet :  for  as  40 
Jonah  was  three  days  and  three  nights  in  the 
belly  of  the  1  whale  ;  so  shall  the  Son  of  man  be 
three  days  and  three  nights  in  the  heart  of  the 
earth.     The  men  of  Nineveh  shall  stand  up  in  4 x 
the  judgement  with  this  generation,  and  shall 
condemn  it :  for  they  repented  at  the  preaching 
of  Jonah  ;  and  behold,  2  a  greater  than  Jonah  is 
here.     The  queen  of  the  south  shall  rise  up  in  42 
the  judgement  with   this  generation,  and  shall 
condemn  it :  for  she  came  from  the  ends  of  the 
earth  to  hear  the  wisdom  of  Solomon ;  and  be- 
hold, 2a  greater  than  Solomon  is  here.     But  the  43 
unclean  spirit,  when  s  he  is  gone  out  of  the  man, 
passeth  through  waterless  places,  seeking  rest, 


40.  It  was  no  immediate  sign,  such  as  they  demanded,  but  it 
was  a  sign  none  the  less.  Jonah's  ejection  from  the  fish  was 
miraculous,  but  Christ's  rising  from  the  grave  was  the  pledge  of 
a  general  resurrection,  the  assertion  of  a  principle. 

Three  days  and  three  nights  (Jonah  i.  17).  The  stress  is  not  on 
the  exact  time,  but  on  the  rising.  Jesus  was  in  the  grave  only 
two  nights.  But  the  Jewish  reckoning  was  always  very  vague 
(1  Sam.  xxx.  12-13;  Esther  iv.  16,  v.  1).  The  expression  is  more 
what  we  mean  by  '  two  or  three  days '. 

41.  stand  tip  in  judgement.  In  the  Aramaic  the  phrase  means 
'  accuse  '.  They  will  measure  themselves  in  the  judgement  with 
this  generation  (Jsa.  liv.  17  ;  Ps.  xciv.  16).  The  accusation  would 
be  not  in  words  but  in  the  fact,  that  they  repented,  while  this 
generation  did  not. 

Greater  than  Jonah,  cf.  v.  6.  Christ's  egotism  is  the  humility  of 
truth. 

42.  queen  of  the  south.  Here  for  the  first  time  SW.  Arabia  is 
described  by  this  term.  The  story  of  1  Kings  x.  1-9  shows 
the  eager  recognition  of  even  Solomon's  wisdom  ;  but  these 
•children  of  wisdom'  (xi.  19)  could  not  detect  the  incarnate 
Wisdom. 

43-5.  This  passage  follows  more  naturally  on  ver.  37  as  in 
Luke  (xi.  24-6).  It  is  most  interesting  as  a  picture  and  criticism 
of  Exorcism  as  practised  by  the  Pharisees.  Jesus  describes  the 
thing  in  their  own  language,  in  order  to  apply  the  illustration  to 


St.   MATTHEW  XII.   44-4G  tt; 

44  and  findeth  it  not.   Then  1  he  saith,  I  will  return  i  Or,  it 
into  my  house  whence  I  came  out ;  and  when 

1  he  is  come,  ]  he  findeth  it  empty,  swept,  and 
4-  garnished.     Then  goeth  l  he,  and   taketh  with 

2  himself  seven  other  spirits  more  evil  than  2  him-  2  0r>  itsel-f 
self,  and  they  enter  in  and  dwell  there :  and  the 

last  state  of  that  man  becometh  worse  than  the 
first.     Even  so  shall  it   be  also  unto  this  evil 
generation. 
46      While  he  was  yet  speaking  to  the  multitudes, 
behold,  his  mother  and  his  brethren  stood  with- 


their  own  case.  According  to  current  demonology  the  demon 
had  no  body  (Tobit  viii.  3  ;  Baruch  iv.  35),  and  must  therefore 
seek  a  house  to  dwell  in.  Expelled  for  a  time  from  its  abode  in 
the  human  body  it  wanders  homeless.  Then  it  comes  back, 
finding  the  poor  victim  healed,  'in  his  right  mind,'  like  a  room 
swept  and  garnished.  He  sa}Ts — here  Jesus  is  speaking  with 
ironical  acceptance  of  the  current  view — '  I  will  return  to  my 
house ' — as  if  he  had  only  gone  cut  while  it  was  cleaned.  Then 
a  legion  of  demons  settles  in  the  house  with  the  one.  This  was 
what  happened  to  the  generation  which  had  '  blasphemed  the 
Holy  Ghost',  a  grim  picture  of  spiritual  ruin. 

These  verses  must  be  set  side  by  side  with  verses  26,  27. 
Unless  Christ  comes  in,  when  the  demon  is  expelled,  the  ex- 
pulsion is  temporary,  and  the  relapse  is  worse  than  the  original 
attack.  In  this  way  ver.  30  is  justified  in  the  passage.  Whoever 
is  not  with  Christ  is  against  Him,  and  scatters  instead  of  gathering. 

46-50.  Here  in  Luke's  account,  xi.  26-28,  comes  the  exclama- 
tion of  the  woman  about  the  blessedness  of  the  mother  of  Jesus, 
to  which  Jesus  replied,  as  always,  by  refusing  to  His  earthly 
mother  a  special  pre-eminence.  The  episode  of  the  mother  and 
brethren  coming  to  speak  to  him  is  given  by  Luke  earlier  (viii. 
19-91). 

46.  He  was  speaking  in  the  house  now  as  Mark  shows  (iii.  19), 
and  as  appears  from  the  first  verse  of  eh.  xiii.  His  relatives 
came  to  the  door.  Their  object  was,  as  Mark  shows  (iii.  21),  to 
take  Him  home,  because  they  thought  He  was  'beside  himself. 
His  brothers  were,  so  far  as  we  know,  the  sons  of  Mary  (xiii.  55  ; 
Mark  vi.  3;  John  ii.  12,  vii.  3,  5.  10;  Acts  i.  14  ;  1  Cor.  ix.  5  ; 
Gal.  i.  19).  When  the  Church  raised  the  Virgin  mother  to  a 
throne  in  heaven  it  was  held  necessary  to  den}*  that  she  had  any 
other  children  beside  Jesus. 


nS  St.  MATTHEW  XII.  47— XIII.  2 

i  Some       out,  seeking  to  speak  to  him.     '  And  one  said  47 

ancient  . 

authorities  unto  him,  Behold,  thy  mother  and  thy  brethren 

omit 

ver.  47.       stand  without,  seeking  to  speak  to  thee.     But  48 
he  answered  and  said  unto  him  that  told  him, 
Who  is  my  mother  ?  and  who  are  my  brethren  ? 
And   he  stretched   forth  his  hand  towards   his  49 
disciples,  and  said,  Behold,  my  mother  and  my 
brethren  !     For  whosoever  shall  do  the  will  of  50 
my  Father  which  is  in  heaven,  he  is  my  brother, 
and  sister,  and  mother. 

On  that  day  went  Jesus  out  of  the  house,  and  13 
sat  by  the  sea  side.     And  there  were  gathered  2 

49.  stretched  forth  his  hand.  This  eloquent  gesture  emphasizes 
the  assertion.  Here  it  is  directed  only  to  the  disciples,  but  in 
Mark  iii.  32  to  a  '  multitude  \ 

The  spiritual  relations  alone  last;  they  who  do  the  will  of  His 
heavenly  Father  are  His  relatives.  He  always  taught  that  our 
earthly  ties,  even  marriage,  do  not  hold  in  the  spiritual  world. 
The  will  of  God  is  the  sole  determinant.  To  accept  that  will  and 
do  it  constitutes  the  one  family  in  heaven  and  in  earth. 

Ch.  xiii.  Matthew  now  proceeds  to  illustrate  the  Lord's 
method  of  teaching  by  parables.  The  teaching  from  the 
beginning  teemed  with  this  attractive  and  arresting  element ;  but 
it  is  implied  by  the  explanation  (ver.  13)  that  Jesus  adopted  the 
parabolic  style  more  specifically  when  the  Pharisees  had  developed 
their  malignant  antagonism  to  Him.1 

Seven  parables  are  now  collected,  in  the  evangelist's  usual  style, 
not  of  course  that  they  were  all  spoken  together  (Mark  iv.  1-32 
gives  four  on  this  occasion,  Luke  viii.  1-18  only  two),  but  they 
are  chosen  with  great  care  to  make  the  perfect  number,  seven. 
That  of  the  Sower  is  introductory  ;  the  other  six  go  in  pairs  ;  thus, 
the  Tares  and  the  Drag-net  go  together,  the  Mustard-seed  and  the 
Leaven,  the  Treasure  and  the  Goodly  Pearl.  It  will  be  observed 
also  from  ver.  34  that  four  are  addressed  to  the  multitude,  and  three 
(36-47')  to  the  disciples.  The  numbers,  7,  4,  3,  are  symbolic  : 
fancy  sees  in  seven  the  perfect  number,  in  four  the  sugges- 
tion of  the  cardinal  points  of  the  compass,  and  in  three  the 
ideal  group  of  disciples.  But  on  this  no  stress  is  to  be  laid. 
'  To  the  parable  of  our  Lord  there  is  nothing  in  all  language  to 


1   In  the  later  Jewish  Literature  parables  abound.    The  form  usually 
is  :   '  A  parable.     To  what  is  the  matter  like  ?     To  &c.' 


St.  MATTHEW  XIII.  3-8  tt9 

unto  him  great  multitudes,  so  that  he  entered 
into  a  boat,  and  sat ;  and  all  the  multitude  stood 

3  on  the  beach.  And  he  spake  to  them  many 
things   in   parables,   saying,   Behold,   the  sower 

4  went  forth  to  sow ;  and  as  he  sowed,  some  seeds 
fell  by  the  way  side,  and  the  birds  came  and 

5  devoured  them  :  and  others  fell  upon  the  rocky 
places,  where  they  had  not  much  earth  :  and 
straightway  they  sprang  up,  because  they  had  no 

6  deepness  of  earth  :  and  when  the  sun  was  risen, 
they  were  scorched ;  and  because  they  had  no 

7  root,  they  withered  away.  And  others  fell  upon 
the  thorns  ;  and  the  thorns  grew  up,  and  choked 

S  them :  and  others  fell  upon  the  good  ground, 
and  yielded    fruit,  some  a   hundredfold,   some 


be  compared  for  simplicity,  grace,  fullness,  and  variety  of  spiritual 
teaching'  (Bruce).  There  is  this  peculiarity  in  them,  as  ver.  9 
indicates,  that  each  person  draws  from  them  truth  in  proportion 
to  his  own  power  of  perception.  Like  sunshine  they  enter, 
according  to  the  capacity,  and  the  largest  or  smallest  mind  is 
equally  filled.  It  is  this  quality  which  must  guide  our  interpreta- 
tion of  the  difficult  passages,  verses  10-15. 

1-9.  the  sower.  The  picture  of  ver.  1,  2  is  very  graphic  ;  the 
boat,  the  sea,  the  shore,  the  preacher  sitting,  the  hearers  standing  ; 
the  suggestion  in  'behold',  that  there  was  a  sower  actually  at 
work  in  sight,  with  the  birds  wheeling  in  the  air  and  swooping  on 
the  grain. 

4.  the  way  side.  A  trodden  path  running  through  the  cornfield, 
not  the  highway. 

5.  rocky  places.  Not  merely  stony  soil,  but  places  where  only  a 
thin  layer  of  soil  covered  the  rock.  The  warmth  of  the  rock 
made  the  growth  precocious.  Strictly  speaking,  the  blades  had  a 
root,  but,  as  the  root  could  not  strike  down  into  the  soil,  it  would 
get  no  nourishment,  and  quickly  wither  in  the  heat  of  the  noonday 
sun. 

7.  fell  on  the  thorns,  i.  e.  where  the  soil  was  full  of  the  thorn 
seedlings. 

8.  a  hundredfold.  This  was  a  rare  and  exceptional  fertility,  such 
as  Isaac  found  in  the  country  of  Abimelech,  '  when  the  Lord 
blessed  him  '  (Gen.  xxvi.  12).  But  the  lesser  returns  are  still 
good. 


120  St.  MATTHEW  XIII.  10-12 

i  Some       sixty j  some  thirty.     He  that  hath  ears l,  let  him 

ancient  , 

authorities    near. 

and  iir0'         And  the  disciples  came,  and  said  unto  him,  Why  io 
TJar\i°    speakest  thou  unto  them  in  parables?     And  he  u 
JJ!^ark      answered  and  said  unto  them,  Unto  you  it  is 
^Hke         given  to  know  the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of 

heaven,  but  to  them  it  is  not  given.     For  who-  12 
soever  hath,  to  him  shall  be  given,  and  he  shall 
have  abundance  :  but  whosoever  hath  not,  from 
him  shall  be  taken  away  even  that  which  he  hath. 

Clearly  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  grain  fell  on  the  good 
ground,  for  no  sower  would  drop  the  seed  on  the  unproductive 
places  voluntarily.  Our  impression  of  Nature  is  '  that  of  fifty 
seeds  she  only  brings  but  one  to  bear  '.  But  we  judge  superficially  ; 
probably  Nature's  economy  surpasses  our  wisest  thrift. 

10.  In  Mark  and  Luke  the  disciples  ask  for  the  meaning  of 
the  parable,  and  to  their  question  the  answer  in  ver.  18-23  is 
fitly  given.  But  the  question  here  is  different  ;  they  ask  why  He 
used  the  method  of  parables  at  all.  The  answer  given  to  this  more 
general  question  is,  in  Matthew's  account,  quite  intelligible  and 
unexceptionable.  The  difficulty  in  the  parallels  of  Mark  and  Luke 
arises  from  not  observing  how  Christ  altered  Isaiah  in  quoting 
him.  In  Isaiah  it  seems  as  if  God  hardened  the  hearts  of  the 
people,  to  prevent  them  from  being  converted.  This  was  a  view 
conceivable  in  the  Old  Testament  theology;  but  Christ  rejected  it: 
as  He  quotes  the  words  of  the  prophet,  from  the  Greek  version, 
He  takes  care  to  put  ;  because  '  for  '  in  order  that ',  ver.  13,  and 
to  show  that  the  people  make  their  own  hearts  gross,  lest  God 
should  heal  them.  We  must,  therefore,  correct  Mark  iv.  12  and 
Luke  viii.  10  by  this  fuller  version  of  our  Lord's  words. 

11.  the  mysteries.  The  word  is  not  to  be  taken  in  the  heathen 
sense,  of  some  esoteric  secrets,  which  only  the  initiated  can  know, 
but  in  the  special  New  Testament  sense,  of  things  which  once 
were  obscure  in  the  older  dispensation,  but  now  are  clear  in  the 
new.  See  St.  Paul's  use  of  the  word  1  Cor.  ii.  6-10  ;  Eph.  iii.  3-6, 
8,  9  ;  Col.  i.  26.  The  sole  reason  why  to  know  these  revelations 
was  not  given  to  the  Pharisees  was  that  they  had  hardened  their 
hearts  in  prejudice.     For  there  is  a  law  in  nature. 

12.  Spiritual  openness  is  rewarded  with  spiritual  revelation. 
When  the  heart  is  set  against  Divine  truth,  the  little  faculty  of 
reception,  which  was  implied  even  in  resisting,  dies  away.  He  who 
was  unwilling  becomes  incapable. 

13.  Therefore  speak  I  . .  .  in  parables.    Why  ?    Because  when  He 


St.  MATTHEW  XIII.  13-17  i2t 

13  Therefore  speak  I  to  them  in  parables  ;  because 
seeing  they  see  not,  and  hearing  they  hear  not, 

14  neither  do  they  understand.     And  unto  them  is 
fulfilled  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah,  which  saith, 

By  hearing  ye  shall  hear,  and  shall  in  no  wise 

understand ; 
And  seeing  ye  shall  see,  and  shall  in  no  wise 

perceive : 

15  For  this  people's  heart  is  waxed  gross, 
And  their  ears  are  dull  of  hearing, 
And  their  eyes  they  have  closed  ; 

Lest  haply  they  should  perceive  with  their  eyes, 

And  hear  with  their  ears, 

And  understand  with  their  heart, 

And  should  turn  again, 

And  I  should  heal  them. 

16  But  blessed  are  your  eyes,   for  they  see  ;  and 

17  your  ears,  for  they  hear.     For  verily  I  say  unto 

spoke  in  plain  language,  as  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  or  by 
the  indisputable  acts  of  healing  and  mercy,  they  closed  their 
eyes,  their  ears,  and  their  understanding.  The  parabolic  method 
was  adopted,  not  to  hide  the  truth,  but  to  present  it  to  minds  which 
rejected  it  in  its  plainer  garb.  He  spoke  in  parables  because 
they  were  in  the  case  described  by  Isaiah,  vi.  9-10  (quoted  also 
in  John  xii.  40  ;  Acts  xxviii.  26-7).  He  uses  the  language  of  the 
LXX  because  that  alone  makes  the  quotation  appropriate  for  His 
purpose.  Thus  it  was  plain  that  the  grossness  of  perception  was 
self-caused  and  not  a  penal  infliction.  They  hardened  their  hearts 
against  God. 

15.  And  I  should  heal  them.  This  is  not  the  reading  of  the  LXX, 
nor  is  it  the  reading  of  our  great  uncials.  It  is  hard  to  see  why 
it  should  be  adopted  when  the  real  sense  is  exactly  what  Jesus 
would  choose  and  mean,  viz.  '  And  I  will  heal  them  ' — i.  e.  in  spite 
of  their  perversity  the  Lord  has  an  unchanging  purpose  of 
salvation  towards  them. 

16.  The  sole  reason  why  the  disciples  could  see  and  receive, 
could  turn  and  be  healed,  was  that  they  had  not  hardened  their 
hearts.     They  were  open  to  truth. 

17.  This  is  the  utterance  of  the  Divine  self-consciousness.     The 


122  St.  MATTHEW  XIII.  18-20 

you,  that  many  prophets  and  righteous  men  de- 
sired to  see  the  things  which  ye  see,  and  saw 
them  not ;  and  to  hear  the  things  which  ye  hear, 
and  heard  them  not.  Hear  then  ye  the  parable  18 
of  the  sower.  When  any  one  heareth  the  word  19 
of  the  kingdom,  and  understandeth  it  not,  then 
cometh  the  evil  one,  and  snatcheth  away  that 
which  hath  been  sown  in  his  heart.  This  is  he 
that  was  sown  by  the  way  side.     And  he  that  20 


prophets  and  righteous  men    (kings,  in  Luke,  like  David)  have 
desired  exactly  the  revelation  of  God  which  is  given  in  Christ. 

Far  and  wide,  though  all  unknowing. 
Pants  for  Him  each  human  breast. 

18.  The  interpretation  of  the  introductory  parable  is  given,  not 
because  it  is  specially  difficult  (on  the  contrary,  see  Mark  iv.  13), 
but  that  He  may  show  them  how  to  deal  with  all  His  parables. 

19.  The  interpretation  shows  that  the  idea  of  the  parable  of 
the  sower  is.  The  effect  of  the  word  is  dependent  on  the  state  of  the 
heart. 

The  seed  is  the  word,  and  as  here  defined,  'the  word  of  the 
kingdom'  (cf.  iv.  23,  ix.  35),  i.  e.  the  gospel.  The  sower  is  Jesus 
Himself,  and  any  of  His  messengers  who  declare  the  same  truth. 
The  field  is  the  world  (cf.  ver.  38),  and  not,  as  some  insist,  the 
Christian  community  or  the  Church.  Each  hearer  is  likened  to 
the  blade  of  corn  springing  up  as  the  result  of  the  word  spoken, 
as  if  the  germinal  word  made  the  soul.  The  hearers  are  viewed 
in  four  classes  :  — 

(1)  The  trite  hearts,  hard  and  unbroken,  into  which  the  message 
makes  no  entrance  at  all.  The  evil  one,  Satan,  snatches  it  away, 
as  the  bird  {improbus  anser  of  Virgil)  picks  up  the  grain  on  the 
trodden  path  (ver.  ig\ 

2)  Hearts  superficially  impressed,  but  not  reached  at  the  centre, 
which  are  pleased  with  God's  truth  before  they  see  what  it 
involves,  but  when  they  find  that  a  persecution  arises,  because  the 
world  is  impatient  of  new  truth,  throw  off  the  gospel  as  quickly  as 
they  received  it. 

(3)  Hearts  which  really  receive  the  truth,  but,  preoccupied  with 
other  seeds,  such  as  absorbing  earthly  interests,  wealth  (or,  as  in 
Mark  and  Luke,  pleasures  and  desires  of  other  things)  bear  no 
fruit.  The  truth  of  God  is  choked  in  them  by  the  more  persistent 
*  truths  of  the  world  '. 

(4"    Honest  and  good  hearts,  as  Luke  calls  them,  which  like  a 


St.  MATTHEW  XIII.  21-24  123 

was  sown  upon  the  rocky  places,  this  is  he  that 
heareth  the  word,  and  straightway  with  joy  re- 

21  ceiveth  it ;  yet  hath  he  not  root  in  himself,  but 
endureth  for  a  while ;  and  when  tribulation  or 
persecution  ariseth  because  of  the  word,  straight- 

22  way  he  stumbleth.  And  he  that  was  sown  among 
the  thorns,  this  is  he  that  heareth  the  word  ;  and 

the  care  of  the  '  world,  and  the  deceitfulness  of  '  °r<  ase 
riches,  choke  the  word,  and  he  becometh  un- 

23  fruitful.  And  he  that  was  sown  upon  the  good 
ground,  this  is  he  that  heareth  the  word,  and 
understandeth  it ;  who  verily  beareth  fruit,  and 
bringeth  forth,  some  a  hundredfold,  some  sixty, 
some  thirty. 

24  Another  parable  set  he  before  them,  saying, 


soil  soft,  deep,  and  clean,  receive  the  truth,  and  it  grows  to  a  per- 
fection proportionate  to  the  endowment  of  the  nature. 

If  we  pressed  the  words  of  the  parable,  it  would  seem  that  onl}' 
the  good  can  receive  the  gospel,  or  that  some  persons  are  pre- 
cluded by  their  nature  or  circumstances  from  making  the  Divine 
seed  fruitful.  But  'he  that  hath  ears  to  hear'  (ver.  o/i  will  under- 
stand that  the  parable  has  one  specific  object,  and  must  not  be 
perverted  by  refinements  or  ingenuities.  The  object  is  to  awake 
the  conscience  in  hearing.  God's  truth  is  always  the  same,  and 
calculated  to  produce  the  same  results  in  all.  But  we  must  take 
heed  how  we  hear.  The  responsibility  lies  with  us ;  we  are  not 
the  victims  of  circumstances.  We  can  give  heed  to  the  word  of  the 
kingdom  or  we  can  refuse  it.  Every  man  can  hear  in  one  of  four 
ways,  and  he  may  repent  of  one  and  hear  in  another  afterwards. 
He  can  either  give  his  attention,  or  withhold  it.  He  can  open  his 
nature,  by  meditation,  to  receive  the  truth  to  the  centre,  or  keep 
it  on  the  surface.  He  can  give  the  truth  of  God  an  opportunity 
of  working,  or  let  it  be  overborne  by  the  multiplicity  of  other 
things.  He  can  give  his  best  poivcrs  to  understanding,  receiving, 
and  testing  'in  an  honest  and  good  heart,'  Luke  viii.  15),  not 
that  he  is  good,  but  exerting  the  will  to  be  good.  And  this  honest 
and  earnest  hearing  ensures  the  fruit. 

22.  The  care  of  the  ivorld.  It  is  a  Hebrew  phrase  for  the  care 
of  that  which  is  temporal  (Dalman,  Words  of  Jesus,  154). 

24-50.   Six  Parables  of  the  Kingdom.     Three  are  addressed 


i24  St.  MATTHEW  XIII.  25-29 

The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  likened  unto  a  man 
that  sowed  good  seed  in  his  field:  but  while  25 

1  Or,  men  slept,  his  enemy  came  and  sowed  1  tares 

darnel 

also  among  the   wheat,  and   went  away.     But  26 
when  the  blade  sprang  up,  and  brought  forth 
fruit,  then  appeared  the  tares  also.     And  the  27 

2  Gr.bond-  2  servants  of  the  householder  came  and  said  unto 

him,  Sir,  didst  thou  not  sow  good  seed  in  thy 
field  ?  whence  then  hath  it  tares  ?     And  he  said  2S 
:  Gr.  a      unto  them,  3  An  enemy  hath  done  this.     And 
is^«that    the  'servants  say  unto  him,  Wilt  thou  then  that 
enemy.       we  ^Q  an(j  ga^ner  them  up  ?     But  he  saith,  Nay  ;  29 

lest  haply  while  ye  gather  up  the  tares,  ye  root 


to  the  multitude,  and  three  to  the  disciples  (ver.  36).  The  first 
and  the  last  form  a  pair,  the  Tares  and  the  Drag-net,  showing 
that  there  is  an  end,  and  then  only  will  the  separation  between 
good  and  evil  be  made.  The  second  and  third  form  another  pair  ; 
the  Mustard-seed  and  the  Leaven  show  how  the  Kingdom  of  God 
grows  and  works  silently  but  effectively.  The  third  pair,  the  Hid 
Treasure  and  the  Priceless  Pearl,  illustrate  the  supreme  value  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God,  as  compared  with  ail  other  possessions. 

24.  set  he  before  them.     As  food  is  served  at  a  banquet. 
his  field.     The  world  is  Christ's. 

tares.  The  Greek  word,  £i£itma,  occurs  only  here.  What 
is  meant  is  darnel,  lolium  teimilentum,  a  weed  which  has  much 
the  same  appearance  as  stalks  of  barley. 

25.  while  men  slept,  in  the  negligence  and  unconsciousness  of 
human  affairs.  The  evil  is  produced  by  a  sowing  just  as  the 
good  is.  The  seed  is  not,  as  in  the  parable  of  the  Sower,  the 
word,  but  a  child  of  the  kingdom  (Jas.  i.  18).  Christ's  enemy  is 
man's  enemy  [Gen.  iii.  15  ;  1  John  iii.  8).  Evil  is  personified  ;  it 
is  impossible  to  conceive  of  moral  evil,  except  in  a  person. 

28.  an  enemy.  Lit.  'a  man  that  is  an  enemy,"  but  that  is  onlj- 
the  Aramaic  phrase  for  quidam  inimicus.  The  proposal  to  weed 
out  the  tares  was  quite  reasonable.  Thus  a  modern  traveller  in 
the  Holy  Land,  Furrer,  says  :  '  Men,  women,  and  children  were 
in  many  fields  engaged  in  pulling  up  the  weeds  (tares).'  It  is 
only  a  law  of  the  spiritual  kingdom  that  they  should  be  left  to 
grow,  and  to  that  the  horticultural  fact  is  adapted.  Explanation, 
ver.  36-43. 


St.   MATTHEW  XIII.   30-33  125 

30  up  the  wheat  with  them.  Let  both  grow  together 
until  the  harvest :  and  in  the  time  of  the  harvest 
I  will  say  to  the  reapers,  Gather  up  first  the  tares, 
and  bind  them  in  bundles  to  burn  them :  but 
gather  the  wheat  into  my  barn. 

31  Another  parable  set  he  before  them,,  saying, 
The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  grain  of 
mustard  seed,  which  a  man  took,  and  sowed  in 

33  his  field  :  which  indeed  is  less  than  all  seeds  ; 

but  when  it  is  grown,  it  is  Greater  than  the  herbs, 

°  '  &  '   1  The  word 

and  becometh  a  tree,  so  that  the  birds  of  the  in  the 
heaven  come  and  lod^e  in  the  branches  thereof,  denotes 

the 

33      Another  parable  spake  he  unto  them  ;  The  Hebrew 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  leaven,  which  measure 
a  woman  took,  and  hid  in  three  1  measures  of  mg  nearly 
meal,  till  it  was  all  leavened.  a  &.  a" 

31-3.  The  silent,  but  persistent,  growth  of  the  Kingdom  is 
shown,  in  its  outward  aspect,  by  a  mustard-seed,  in  its  inner 
aspect  by  the  working  of  leaven. 

32.  The  language  is  general,  and  not  precise.  There  are  smaller 
seeds  than  the  mustard,  e.  g.  lycopodhim  ;  there  are  larger  herbs. 
But  a  mustard-seed  grows  into  so  large  a  herb  that  it  is  like  a 
little  tree.  The  birds  could  hardly  build  in  it,  but  they  can  rest 
and  shelter  in  the  stalks  ;  and,  so  far,  it  represents  the  shelter  and 
repose,  as  the  pungent  and  grateful  taste  represents  the  blessed- 
ness, of  the  Kingdom.  The  plant  referred  to  is  not  the  salvadora 
pcrdica,  which  is  actually  a  tree,  but  the  common  mustard.  Note 
how  the  Lord  loves  to  illustrate  a  great  theme  from  a  very  little 
and  humble  thing  ;  and  so  a  modern  poet  will  take  the  meanest 
flower  that  grows,  or  one  '  in  a  crannied  wall',  and  draw  his 
moral  from  it. 

33.  The  illustration  of  the  inward  working  of  the  Kingdom  is 
bolder  still ;  for  leaven  was  always  used  by  the  rabbis  as  an 
illustration  of  evil.     Jesus  characteristically  turns  it  to  good. 

three  measures.  Gen.  xviii.  6 :  too  much  for  an  ordinary 
baking. 

all  leavened.  1  Cor.  v.  6  ;  Gal.  v.  9  ;  the  thoroughness  of  the 
leaven?s  work  is  most  consoling.  The  word  of  the  Kingdom  will 
not  fail  till  the  whole  world  is  leavened  by  it.  There  is  a  con- 
summation, a  victory,  when  God  shall  be  all  in  all. 


126  St.  MATTHEW  XIII.   34-36 

All  these  things  spake  Jesus  in  parables  unto  .h 
the  multitudes ;  and  without  a  parable  spake  he 
nothing  unto  them  :  that  it  might   be  fulfilled  35 

1  Or,  which  was  spoken  1  by  the  prophet,  saying, 

I  will  open  my  mouth  in  parables ; 

I  will  utter  things  hidden  from  the  foundation 

2  Many  2  of  the  world. 

authori-  Then  he  left  the  multitudes,  and  went  into  36 

of)/Zm      the  house :  and  his  disciples  came  unto  him, 
saying,  Explain  unto  us  the  parable  of  the  tares 


34.  without  a  parable,  i.  e.  at  that  time  He  confined  Himself  to 
this  method  ;  though  perhaps  one  might  say  that  the  parabolic 
form  of  teaching,  interesting,  allowing,  leading  to  inquiry,  was 
habitual  to  Him. 

35.  the  prophet,  i.  e.  author  of  Ps.  lxxviii.  It  will  be  noted  that 
the  '  hidden  things  '  of  the  Psalm  are  only  the  stories  of  Israel. 
Perhaps  the  evangelist  means  that  the  meaning  which  underlies 
those  histories  is  brought  out  by  the  parables  of  Christ.  The 
Book  of  Exodus  in  Christ's  light  becomes  a  parable  ;  Christ's 
parables  are  a  Genesis,  an  Exodus,  a  Kingdom  of  the  Soul. 

the  foundation  of  the  earth.  Cf.  2  Esdras  ii.  41,  '  Thy  people 
which  have  been  called  from  the  beginning.'  The  New  Testament 
often  refers  to  the  origins,  e.  g.  xxv.  34  ;  Luke  xi.  50  ;  Heb.  iv.  3  ; 
John  xvii.  24 ;  Eph.  i.  4  ;  1  Pet.  i.  20.  It  is  characteristic  of 
Scripture  that  here  on  the  same  page  the  eye  sweeps  from  '  the 
foundation  of  the  world  '  to  '  the  end  of  the  world  '  (ver.  40). 

36-43.  Explain  unto  us  the  parable  of  the  tares.  The  field  is  not 
the  Kingdom  of  God,  but  the  world  in  which  it  develops.  John 
viii.  44  explains  in  what  sense  the  good  are  called  children  of  God, 
and  the  bad  children  of  the  evil  one.  The  purpose  of  the  parable, 
however,  is  not  to  explain  the  existence  of  evil,  but  only  to  show 
that  God  allows  the  evil  to  remain  among  the  good  until  the  end. 
Why  ?  We  are  not  told.  The  sole  object  is  to  discourage  a  too 
zealous  purism.  The  Kingdom  does  not  mean  an  inquisition,  or  an 
attempt  to  weed  out  the  evil.  The  inquisitorial  passion  is  not  of 
the  spirit  of  Christ  (Luke  ix.  54  ;  Jas.  i.  2o\  The  spirit  of  judge- 
ment must  be  left  to  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth.  A  wonder  creeps 
in  whether  even  the  discipline  of  1  Cor.  v  was  quite  within  the 
terms  of  Christ's  thought  ;  and  St.  John  fleeing  from  the  bath 
because  Cerinthus  was  under  the  roof  (cf.  2  John  10,  11) 
seems  a  lapse  into  an  unregenerate  condition.  At  any  rate  the 
discipline  of  the  Church  can  only  be  permitted  when  Christ  is 
present  (1  Cor.  v.  4). 


St.   MATTHEW  XIII.   37-42  127 

37  of  the  field.  And  he  answered  and  said,  Me 
that  soweth  the  good  seed  is  the  Son  of  man  ; 

;,S  and  the  field  is  the  world  ;  and  the  good  seed, 
these  are  the  sons  of  the  kingdom  ;  and  the  tares 

;,9  are  the  sons  of  the  evil  one ;  and  the  enemy  that 

sowed  them  is  the  devil :  and  the  harvest  is  '  the  l  Or,  the 

111,  ,        consum- 

end  of  the  world ;  and  the  reapers  are  angels,  motion 

40  As  therefore  the  tares  are  gathered  up  and  burned 
with  fire  ;  so  shall  it  be  in ]  the  end  of  the  world. 

4 1  The  Son  of  man  shall  send  forth  his  angels,  and 
they  shall  gather  out  of  his  kingdom  all  things 
that  cause  stumbling,  and  them  that  do  iniquity, 

4-'  and  shall  cast  them  into  the  furnace  of  fire:  there 
shall  be  the  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth.  Then 
shall  the  righteous  shine  forth  as  the  sun  in  the 


38.  sons  of  the  kingdom.  In  viii.  12  the  Jews,  but  here,  in  con- 
trast with  '  the  son  of  the  evil  one',  they  are  the  men  of  a  cognate 
character  with  the  theocracy. 

39.  the  end  of  the  ivorld,  v.  49.  xxiv.  3,  xxviii.  20,  but  not  in 
Mark  or  Luke,  a  phrase  of  the  evangelist's  which  he  had  in 
common  with  the  author  of  Heb.  ix.  26.  This  implies  that  the 
present  condition  of  things,  mixed  good  and  evil,  will  continue 
until  that:  glad  day  of  Christ's  coming. 

41.  his  angels,  they  are  Christ's.  The  Son  of  Man  is  God. 
The  Kingdom  also  is  His ;  for  He  and  the  Father  are  one 
^ver.  43).  It  is  in  this  suggestive  way  that  the  deity  of  Jesus  is 
expressed  (cf.  xix.  28,  xx.  21  ;   1  Pet.  iii.  22;. 

things  that  cause  stumbling.  'SieavdaKa,  everything  that  brings 
or  can  bring  people  to  fall— but  this  includes  persons  who  do 
iniquity  (cf.  vii.  23).     It  is  an  echo  of  Ps.  i.  5. 

42.  cf.  iii.  12.  When  the  wicked  have  gone  away  into  punish- 
ment, then,  and  not  till  then,  will  the  good  shine  forth  unclouded 
and  untarnished.  Jesus  thinks  of  Dan.  xii.  3,  but  for  'the  under- 
standing' there  He  substitutes  '  the  righteous'. 

We  cannot  say  that  Jesus  here  wishes  to  describe  the  punish- 
ment of  the  future  world  in  any  original  way  ;  the  whole  point  of 
this  parable,  and  of  the  repetition  of  the  idea  in  the  parable  of  the 
Drag-net  (ver.  47-50),  is  to  forbid  the  attempt  to  separate  good 
from  bad  before  the  end. 


r28  St.  MATTHEW  XIII.  41-47 

kingdom  of  their  Father.     He  that  hath  ears, 
let  him  hear. 

The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  treasure  41 
hidden  in  the  field ;  which  a  man  found,  and 
j  Or,  hid ;  and  1  in  his  joy  he  goeth  and  selleth  all 

thereof      that  he  hath,  and  buyeth  that  field. 

Again,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  45 
man  that  is  a  merchant  seeking  goodly  pearls : 
and  having  found  one  pearl  of  great  price,  he  46 
went  and  sold  all  that  he  had,  and  bought  it. 
Again,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  47 
drag-net.    2  net,  that  was  cast  into  the  sea,  and  gathered 

44-6.  treasure  hidden  .  .  .  goodly  pearls.  The  two  parables  illus- 
trate the  two  cases,  first,  where  the  truth  of  God  is  found  without 
seeking  (Isa.  lxv.  i)  as  a  glad  surprise  ;  second,  where  it  is  the 
result  of  a  diligent  search. 

44.  Cf.  Prow  ii.  4.  In  days  before  banks,  treasure  was  often 
buried  ;  treasure-troves  were  not,  therefore,  uncommon  ( Jer.  xli.  8 ; 
Job  iii.  21).  The  supreme  value  of  the  find  ;  cf.  Mark  x.  ar,  28  ; 
it  is  worth  sacrificing  everything  to  gain  it,  if  only  for  this  reason, 
that  it  includes  everything.  Call  the  Kingdom  of  God  the  con- 
sciousness of  absolute  and  unbroken  union  with  Him  who  is  Love, 
Wisdom,  Goodness,  and  Power,  and  it  is  plain  that  everything 
may  be  freely  sacrificed  to  gain  it. 

45.  The  merchant  ransacking  the  stores  for  pearls  finds  one 
that  excels  all  in  value.  The  fact  is  hardly  likely  as  a  commercial 
bargain.  To  gain  the  Koh-i-noor  a  diamond-merchant  would  give 
much,  but  scarcely  all.  But  the  Kingdom  is  a  jewel  of  a  price 
transcending  earthly  illustration. 

For  the  searching,  see  Jer.  xxix.  13. 

47-50.  a  drag-net.  207771/77  ;  in  contrast  with  d/Xipip\r]aTpov 
and  ditcTvov,  the  commoner  names  for  '  net ',  a  net  carried  out  in 
a  boat  and  dropped  into  the  sea,  then  drawn  to  the  land.  It 
would  bring  in  all  sorts  and  conditions.  In  this  illustration  the 
separation  is  more  emphasized  ;  but  still  the  object  of  the  parable 
is  simply  to  show  how  the  great  net  (the  Church,  or  visible  com- 
munity of  souls')  must  be  allowed  to  hold  its  mixed  contents, 
until  on  the  quiet  shore  of  eternity  those  fitted  for  the  task 
can  make  the  just  discrimination.  The  furnace  of  fire  and  the 
weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth  are  the  accepted  features  of  the 
state  of  the  bad  ;  but  we  should  miss  the  point  of  the  parable  if 
we  supposed  that  this  was  the  truth  which  Jesus  was  revealing. 


St.  MATTHEW  XIII.  48-55  129 

48  of  every  kind  :  which,  when  it  was  filled,  they 
drew  up  on  the  beach ;  and  they  sat  down,  and 
gathered  the  good  into  vessels,  but  the  bad  they 

49  cast  away.     So  shall  it  be  in  1  the  end  of  the  l  Or,  the 


consum- 


world :  the  angels  shall  come  forth,  and  sever  motion  of 

50  the  wicked  from  among  the  righteous,  and  shall 
cast  them  into  the  furnace  of  fire :  there  shall 
be  the  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth. 

51  Have  ye  understood  all  these  things?     They 

52  say  unto  him,  Yea.  And  he  said  unto  them, 
Therefore  every  scribe  who  hath  been  made  a 
disciple  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto 
a  man  that  is  a  householder,  which  bringeth  forth 
out  of  his  treasure  things  new  and  old. 

53  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jesus  had  finished 

54  these  parables,  he  departed  thence.  And  coming 
into  his  own  country  he  taught  them  in  their 
synagogue,  insomuch  that  they  were  astonished, 
and  said,  Whence  hath  this  man  this  wisdom, 

.  2  Gr. 

55  and  these  2  mighty  works  ?     Is  not  this  the  car-  powers. 

51-2.  The  disciples  were  satisfied  that  they  understood  these 
pregnant  stories.  The  Lord  allowed  their  understanding,  imper- 
fect as  it  probably  was.  And  He  appoints  His  disciples  as 
exponents  of  His  word.  The  'scribe  made  a  disciple  in  the 
Kingdom  '  (cf.  the  active  voice  of  the  verb,  xxviii.  19)  is  a  beautiful 
designation  of  the  preacher  of  the  Gospel.  As  a  scribe  he  is  still 
a  student  of  the  Old  Testament,  the  Law  and  the  Prophets,  but  as 
a  disciple  in  the  Kingdom,  he  finds  new  depths  and  meanings  in 
the  old  truth.  Scripture  becomes  an  allegory  to  him,  and  the 
world  a  parable.  His  Father's  house,  over  which  He  is  set,  is 
stored  with  treasures  obvious  and  recondite.  Jesus  designates  His 
ministers  scribes,  and  prophets  (xxiii.  34),  but  not  priests. 

53-8.  Jesus  returns  to  Nazareth,  to  experience  the  cold 
reception  of  '  his  own  '. 

54.  his  own  country,  John  iv.  44.  This  is  most  likely  the  visit 
to  Nazareth  which  Luke  was  able  to  expand  into  the  instructive 
narrative  of  iv.  16-30. 

mighty  works.     Rather  '  powers '. 

K 


T3o  St.  MATTHEW  XIII.  56— XIV.   1 

penter's  son?  is  not  his  mother  called  Mary? 
and  his  brethren,  James,  and  Joseph,  and  Simon, 
and  Judas  ?     And  his  sisters,  are  they  not  all  56 
with  us  ?     Whence  then  hath  this  man  all  these 

1  Gr.         things  ?    And  they  were  1  offended  in  him.    But  57 

caused  to  , 

stumble.     Jesus  said  unto  them,  A  prophet  is  not  without 
honour,  save  in  his  own  country,  and  in  his  own 

2  Gr.  house.     And  he  did  not  many  2  mighty  works  58 

powers. 

there  because  of  their  unbelief. 

At  that  season  Herod  the  tetrarch  heard  the  14 


55.  Mark  (vi.  3)  implies  that  Jesus  was  not  only  the  carpenter's 
son,  but  himself  the  Carpenter.  When  Holman  Hunt  ventured 
to  represent  Him  in  the  shop,  the  piety  of  the  time  was  outraged. 
On  the  other  hand  the  working  men  of  the  north  crowded  to  see 
'  The  Shadow  of  the  Cross ',  and  saved  their  money  to  buy  the 
two-guinea  plates.  Religious  people  take  offence  at  His  humanity 
and  humility  ;  for  that  very  reason  the  common  people  receive 
Him  gladly. 

For  His  brothers,  see  xii.  46. 

56.  His  sisters  were  married  and  settled  in  Nazareth  ;  they  had 
their  babes,  whom  no  doubt  Jesus  nursed  and  embraced.  What 
further  proof  was  needed  that  he  was  but  man  ! 

57.  they  were  offended.  Note  the  irony  of  ver.  41.  There  all 
the  '  scandals '  or  things  which  make  men  stumble  are  gathered 
out.  Here  Jesus  Himself  is  the  cause  of  stumbling.  The  same 
word  is  used  in  the  verbal  form.  The  good  make  the  bad  to 
stumble,  just  as  the  bad  make  the  good  ;  hence  the  need  of  the 
separation  described  in  ver.  41.  Hence  also  the  swift  recognition 
of  the  fact,  and  the  speedy  withdrawal  on  the  part  of  Jesus.  Where 
He  causes  to  stumble,  He  does  not  stay.  The  proverbial  saying 
which  He  quotes  is  common  in  all  countries,  from  Pindar  (^Olymp. 
xiii.  31), '  Fame  fades  at  the  family  hearth  ',  to  '  No  man  is  a  hero  to 
his  valet  de  chambre\  though  Carlyle's  comment  may  be  remem- 
bered :  '  Not  because  he  is  not  a  hero  but  because  the  valet  is  a  valet.' 

58.  because  of  their  unbelief  see  xvii.  20.  He  does  not  punish 
them  for  their  unbelief  by  refusing  to  exhibit  His  powers  ;  but 
they  by  their  unbelief  make  His  works  impossible.  His  works 
are  all  in  the  mind  of  man  ;  when  the  mind  refuses  Him,  He  can 
only  stand  at  the  door  and  knock.  Unbelief  is  spiritual  suicide, 
self-separation  from  the  source  of  truth  and  life  and  love. 

Ch.  xiv.  Jesus  fleeing  for  life.  This  wonderful  chapter  has,  it 
has  been  well  said,  like  the  five  loaves  and  two  fishes  (ver.  17), 
fed  great  multitudes.  Jesus  withdraws  from  the  dangerous  attention 


St.  MATTHEW  XIV.  2-5  131 

2  report  concerning  Jesus,  and  said  unto  his 
servants,  This  is  John  the  Baptist ;  he  is  risen 
from  the  dead ;  and  therefore  do  these  powers 

3  work  in  him.  For  Herod  had  laid  hold  on  John, 
and  bound  him,  and  put  him  in  prison  for  the 

4  sake  of  Herodias,  his  brother  Philip's  wife.  For 
John  said  unto  him,  It  is  not  lawful  for  thee  to 

5  have  her.     And  when  he  would  have  put  him 

of  an  arbitrary  king,  and  in  his  retirement  heals  the  sick  (v.  14, 
35,  36),  feeds  the  hungry,  and  manifests  Himself  to  His  troubled 
disciples  in  the  storm.  He  touches  heart  and  imagination  so 
powerfully,  that  at  this  point,  as  St.  John  tells  us,  the  people 
wished  to  make  Him  king.  The  threatened  and  exiled  prophet 
reached  the  zenith  of  His  acceptance  and  influence  with  the 
people.     Then  with  victorious  serenity  He  faced  death. 

1-12.  Herod  wishes  to  see  Jesus,  Herod  who  had  already 
executed  John  the  Baptist.  The  death  of  John  is  inserted  in  the 
narrative  because  it  was  the  warning  and  presage  of  the  death 
of  Jesus  :  the  forerunner  went  before  Him  in  death. 

1.  Herod,  surnamed  Antipas,  brother  of  Archelaus  (ii.  22", 
son  of  Herod  the  Great.  He  was  tetrarch,  only  by  courtesy 
a  king,  of  Galilee  and  Peraea ;  his  wife  was  the  daughter  of 
Aretas  the  Arabian  king.  Like  his  father,  he  was  a  builder,  and 
founded  Tiberias  in  honour  of  the  emperor.  His  brother  Philip 
must  not  be  confused  with  Philip  the  governor  of  Gaulonitis,  into 
which  territory  Jesus  withdrew  (ver.  14)  ;  the  husband  of  Herodias 
was  a  weak  man  who  remained  in  a  private  station  all  his  life, 
and  the  ambitious  woman  left  him  for  a  reigning  tetrarch.  The 
daughter  of  Philip  and  Herodias,  Salome,  married  Philip  the 
tetrarch  of  Gaulonitis,  .an  able  and  honourable  ruler,  who  rebuilt 
Paneas,  and  called  it  Caesarea  Philippi,  the  town  which  is  identified 
with  the  first  open  confession  of  our  Lord  (xvi.  13). 

3.  Herod  Antipas  was  a  man  with  a  haunted  conscience.  The 
murdered  John  was  always  present  to  his  imagination.  The 
hope  seized  him  that  his  victim  was  alive  again,  and  these 
powers  were  working  in  him,  because  he  had  returned  from  the 
grave.  Vain  hope  !  And  doubtless  when  he  found  that  Jesus 
was  not  John,  his  disappointment  would  have  expressed  itself  in 
a  new  act  of  violence.  ;  That  fox,'  as  Jesus  called  him,  would 
probably  have  imprisoned  Jesus.     That  is  why  Jesus  withdrew. 

5.  In  Mark  vi.  19,  the  blame  of  the  murder  lies  at  the  door 
of  Herodias.  Here  Herod  had  always  wished  to  murder  him, 
but  had  been  restrained  by  the  people.  Tyrants  live  in  terror  of 
the  very  multitude  whom  they  terrify. 

K  2 


1 32  St.  MATTHEW  XIV.  6-13 

to  death,  he  feared  the  multitude,  because  they 
counted  him  as  a  prophet.     But  when  Herod's  6 
birthday  came,  the  daughter  of  Herodias  danced 
in  the  midst,  and  pleased  Herod.     Whereupon  7 
he  promised  with  an  oath  to  give  her  whatsoever 
she  should  ask.    And  she,  being  put  forward  by  8 
her  mother,  saith,  Give  me  here  in  a  charger  the 
head  of  John  the  Baptist.     And  the  king  was  9 
grieved ;  but  for  the  sake  of  his  oaths,  and  of 
them  which  sat  at  meat  with  him,  he  commanded 
it  to  be  given ;  and  he  sent,  and  beheaded  John  io 
in  the  prison.     And  his  head  was  brought  in  Ir 
a  charger,  and  given  to  the  damsel :  and  she 
brought  it  to  her  mother.     And  his  disciples  12 
came,  and  took  up  the  corpse,  and  buried  him ; 
and  they  went  and  told  Jesus. 

Now  when  Jesus  heard  it,  he  withdrew  from  13 
thence  in  a  boat,  to  a  desert  place  apart :  and 
when  the  multitudes  heard  thereof,  they  followed 

6.  The  dance  was  of  that  immodest  kind  which  delights  a 
corrupt  court  ;  and  the  connexion  between  lasciviousness  and 
cruelty  is  illustrated  in  what  follows.  The  feast  evidently  took 
place  at  Machaerus,  the  castle-palace,  which  lay  some  miles  east 
of  the  Dead  Sea.  Josephus  mentions  the  fortress  ;  this  shows  it 
was  also  a  palace. 

8.  being  put  forward.  This  phrase  is  better  explained  by  the 
fuller  narrative  in  Mark.  But  the  word  perhaps  means,  '  brought 
to  such  a  point'  of  cruelty  and  depravity,  as  to  ask  for  the  head 
of  the  holy  man  as  a  dainty  dish. 

12.  The  disciples  of  John  (see  xi.  2)  were  implicitly  disciples  of 
Jesus  ;  they  brought  Him  the  sad  news  of  the  execution  apparently 
to  warn  Him  of  His  own  danger. 

13-21.  Jesus,  withdrawing  from  the  territory  of  Herod 
Antipas,  the  multitude  follow  Him,  and  He  heals  and  feeds 
them  all.  This  section  is  one  of  the  very  few  which  appear  in  all 
four  of  the  Evangelists.  We  are  at  liberty  therefore  to  illustrate 
our  rather  bald  narrative  from  the  parallel  passages  Mark  vi.  30-44  ; 
Luke  ix.  10-17;  John  vi.  1-14.  From  Mark  it  appears  that  the 
disciples  had  just  returned  from  their  mission,  and  Jesus  wished 


St.  MATTHEW  XIV.  14-19  133 

14  him  !  on  foot  from  the  cities.     And  he  came  1  Or, 
forth,  and  saw  a  great  multitude,  and  he  had 

15  compassion  on  them,  and  healed  their  sick.  And 
when  even  was  come,  the  disciples  came  to  him, 
saying,  The  place  is  desert,  and  the  time  is 
already  past  ;  send  the  multitudes  away,  that 
they  may  go  into  the  villages,  and  buy  them- 

16  selves  food.  But  Jesus  said  unto  them,  They 
have  no  need  to  go  away ;  give  ye  them  to  eat. 

17  And  they  say  unto  him,  We  have  here  but  five 

18  loaves,  and  two  fishes.    And  he  said,  Bring  them 

19  hither  to  me.     And  he  commanded  the  multi- 


them  to  come  aside  and  rest  awhile.  From  John  it  seems  that  it 
was  the  time  of  Passover,  and  Jesus  did  not  go  up  to  Jerusalem  ; 
the  multitude  therefore  which  followed  Him  consisted  largely  of 
those  who  were  going  up  to  the  Feast.  The  motives  for  with- 
drawal were,  Herod's  wish  to  see  Him,  the  disciples'  need  of 
a  rest,  and  the  wish  to  avoid  a  journey  to  Jerusalem.  For  these 
reasons  He  sought  '  a  desert  place  apart '  ;  but  He  could  not  be 
hid,  He  could  not  enjoy  privacy.  The  people  from  Gennesaret, 
the  plain  in  which  Capernaum  stood,  walked  round  the  head  of 
the  lake  ('  on  foot '  nifo,  means  only  '  by  land  '  ;  the  sick  may  have 
ridden  or  been  carried),  and  when  Jesus  landed  at  Bethsaida 
Julias),  the  town  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Jordan,  where  it  enters 
the  lake,  the  multitude  were  there  waiting  for  Him. 

14.  His  compassion  failed  not ;  so  ix.  36.  Whether  their 
ignorance  or  their  sicknesses  appealed  most  to  Him  we  cannot 
say.  But  the  sight  of  their  needs  banished  all  thought  of  rest  or 
retirement.  From  John  we  learn  that  He  was  in  danger  not 
only  from  Herod  but  from  the  Jews  also. 

15.  when  even  was  come.  The  same  mark  of  time  in  ver.  23. 
But  in  Jewish  reckoning  there  were  two  evenings,  the  first  when 
the  sun  declined,  from  three  to  six,  the  second  when  the  sun 
set.  The  feeding  of  the  multitude  was  therefore  in  the 
afternoon. 

the  time  is  already  past,  i.e.  'They  have  been  with  us  long 
enough,  let  us  dismiss  them.'  But  Jesus  does  not  want  to  get  rid 
of  them,  He  loves  them. 

17.  There  was  a  lad  carrying  five  loaves  and  two  fishes  (sa3's 
John  vi.  8),  a  rather  scant  supply  for  the  disciples  alone.  This 
was  to  feed  a  crowd  of  over  five  thousand. 


134  St.  MATTHEW  XIV.  20-22 

1  Gf;  tudes  to  1  sit  down  on  the  grass ;  and  he  took 

recline-  °  ' 

the  five  loaves,  and  the  two  fishes,  and  looking 
up  to  heaven,  he  blessed,  and  brake  and  gave 
the  loaves  to  the  disciples,  and  the  disciples  to 
the  multitudes.  And  they  did  all  eat,  and  were  20 
filled;  and  they  took  up  that  which  remained 
over  of  the  broken  pieces,  twelve  baskets  full. 
And  they  that  did  eat  were  about  five  thousand  21 
men,  beside  women  and  children. 

And  straightway  he  constrained  the  disciples  23 
to  enter  into  the  boat,  and  to  go  before  him 
unto  the  other  side,   till   he  should  send  the 

19.  There  was  much  grass  in  the  place,  says  John  vi.  10. 
Mark  in  his  vivid  way  mentions  that  it  was  green. 

he  blessed.  In  John  it  is  ei>xa/M<rTi7<ra9,  i.  e.  '  gave  thanks  \ 
It  was  a  Eucharist  :  *  'Twas  springtime  when  He  blessed  the 
bread,  And  harvest  when  He  brake.'  It  is  vital  to  realize  the 
spiritual  meaning.of  the  miracle.  The  compassion  of  Jesus  feeds 
His  people  with  abundance. 

20.  The  baskets  here,  unlike  those  in  the  Feeding  of  the  Four 
Thousand,  are  the  icotpivoi,  which  formed  the  travelling  trunks  of 
Jews,  in  which  they  carried  food.  So  Juvenal  speaks  of  Jews, 
i  quorum  cophinus  faenumque  supellex.'  Ordinarily,  therefore, 
the  twelve  cophini  of  the  disciples  would  have  had  a  fair  supply, 
but  they  chanced  to  be  empty.  Now  \\\<zy  were  filled  with  the 
fragments ! 

21.  The  women  and  children  would  be  few,  as  the  men  were 
going  to  the  Feast.  The  power  of  Jesus  over  matter,  creating 
as  well  as  controlling,  cannot  be  to  us  an  evidence  of  His  nature, 
as  it  was  to  those  who  saw  it ;  rather  His  nature  is  to  us 
the  evidence  for  that  other  power,  the  ground  on  which  we 
are  able  to  accept  the  present  incident,  and  the  still  more 
wonderful  one  which  now  follows. 

22-36.  He  stills  the  storm  ;  He  confirms  faith.  He 
returns  charged  with  healing  power.  Retreat  and  retirement 
are  only  further  work,  until  His  task  is  done. 

22.  constrained  them.  He  was  now  bent  on  getting  a  little 
solitude  : 

When  from  our  better  selves  we  have  loo  long 
Been  parted  by  the  hurrying  world,  and  droop, 
Sick  of  its  business,  of  its  pleasures  tired, 
How  gracious,  how  benign  is  solitude ! 


St.  MATTHEW  XIV.  23-28  135 

23  multitudes  away.  And  after  he  had  sent  the 
multitudes  away,  he  went  up  into  the  mountain 
apart  to  pray  :  and  when  even  was  come,  he 

24  was  there  alone.     But  the  boat  !  was  now  in  the  'Some 

ancient 

midst  of  the  sea,  distressed  by  the  waves :  for  authori- 

J  ties  read 

2*  the  wind  was  contrary.    And  in  the  fourth  watch  was  many 

^  .  furlongs 

of  the  night  he  came  unto  them,  walking  upon  distant 

26  the  sea.     And  when  the  disciples  saw  him  walk-  land. 
ing  on  the  sea,  they  were  troubled,  saying,  It  is 

27  an  apparition ;  and  they  cried  out  for  fear.  But 
straightway  Jesus  spake  unto  them,  saying,  Be 

25  of  good  cheer ;  it  is  I ;  be  not  afraid.  And 
Peter  answered  him  and  said,  Lord,  if  it  be 


He  was  wearied  too  by  the  attempt  to  make  Him  a  king,  men- 
tioned by  John,  an  elevation  to  a  temporal  Messiahship  which 
would  have  frustrated  His  life-work. 

the  other  side.  In  Mark  vi.  45,  Bethsaida,  viz.  :  Bethsaida  of 
Galilee  (John  xii.  21),  a  few  miles  south  of  Capernaum  on  the 
western  shore,  not  Bethsaida  (Julias)  at  the  north-east  of  the  lake. 

23.  he  was  there  alone.  At  last,  the  needed  solitude  and  the 
time  for  prayer  ! 

24.  The  boat  was  distressed  by  the  waves,  lit.  tormented.  In 
Mark  vi.  48  the  men  were. 

25.  the  fourth  natch.  That  is  the  Roman  reckoning  ;  between 
three  and  six  a.m.  In  eight  hours  they  were  only  half  across  ; 
i.  e.  had  only  made  three  and  a  half  miles  (John  vi.  19s. 

26.  From  the  mountain  He  saw  them,  and  He  came  down  and 
walked  the  waves  to  be  near  them.  They  recognized  His  form, 
but  took  it  for  a  spectre,-  till  He  spoke. 

27.  They  knew  His  familiar  '  Be  of  good  cheer  ',  His  favourite 
word  to  troubled  spirits  (ix.  4,  22).  And  then  the  great  'Eycb  dpi  : 
so  John  viii.  58  ;  cf.  Exod.  vi.  2-9,  where  God  reveals  Himself  to 
Moses  as  'E7W  dpi,  i.e.  'I  am'.  What  a  song  in  the  night  is 
this,  to  hear  across  the  welter  of  waters,  the  '  I  am  '  of  Jesus  : 

Thou  framer  of  the  light  and  dark, 

Steer  through  the  tempest  thine  own  ark. 

Amid  the  howling  wintry  sea 

We  are  in  port  if  we  have  Thee ! 
Accordingly  John  (vi.  21)  says  that  they  were  immediately  at  the 
land. 

28-31.  The  story  of  Peter  coming  on  the  sea,  to  Jesus,  and 
sinking,  the  great  example  of  the  power  of  faith  and  the  result  of 


136  St.  MATTHEW  XIV.  29-35 

thou,  bid  me  come  unto  thee  upon  the  waters. 

And  he  said,  Come.    And  Peter  went  down  from  29 
1  Some       the  boat,  and  walked  upon  the  waters, '  to  come 
autiori-      to  Jesus.     But  when  he  saw  the  wind 2,  he  was  30 
a^/came.   afraid  ;  and  beginning  to  sink,  he  cried  out,  say- 
anctent       m&'   Lord,  save  me.     And  immediately  Jesus  31 
authori.      stretched  forth  his  hand,  and  took  hold  of  him, 

ties  add  ' 

strong.       an(j  saith  unt0  him,  O  thou  of  little  faith,  where- 
fore didst  thou  doubt  ?     And  when  they  were  33 
gone  up  into  the  boat,  the  wind  ceased.     And  33 
they  that  were  in  the  boat  worshipped  him,  say- 
ing, Of  a  truth  thou  art  the  Son  of  God. 

And  when  they  had  crossed  over,  they  came  34 
to  the  land,  unto  Gennesaret.  And  when  the  35 
men  of  that  place  knew  him,  they  sent  into  all 

doubt,  is  told  only  by  Matthew.  No  narrative  is  more  charged 
with  spiritual  meaning.  The  impulse  of  faith  launches  us  towards 
Jesus.  We  are  afraid,  when  the  obstacles  appear.  The  cry  of 
distress  elicits  at  once  the  rebuke  and  the  saving  power  of  Jesus. 
His  hand  is  stretched  out  :  we  are  in  safety  with  Him.  It  is 
a  passage  to  brood  over,  and  to  make  our  own,  because  the  time 
comes  to  every  man  when  he  sinks  in  the  deep  waters,  and  the}' 
threaten  to  go  over  his  head.  Then  to  experience  the  helping 
hand  of  Jesus  is  salvation  :  '  We  are  in  port  if  we  have  Thee  ! ' 

31.  O  thou  of  little  faith.  That  is  the  constant  designation  of 
His  disciples  (vi.  30).  None  yet  has  wholly  believed,  with  a  faith 
unweakened  by  doubt  (Jas.  i.  6). 

33.  While  Matthew  records  a  glad  confession,  Mark  (vi.  51,  52) 
speaks  only  of  unintelligent  amazement  and  hardening  (cf.  the 
contrast  of  Matt.  xiii.  16,  17  with  Mark  iv.  13).  Can  it  be  that 
in  Mark  we  have  Peter's  own  self-reproach,  his  wonder  at  the 
dense  stupidity  which  did  not  escape  the  charge  '  O  thou  of 
little  faith  '  ?  But  doubtless  Matthew  is  right ;  some  at  least  in  the 
boat  recognized  who  He  was.  On  the  former  occasion  (viii. 
27)  they  said,  '  What  manner  of  man  is  this  ?  ' — now  they  answer 
their  inquiry  :  '  Thou  art  the  Son  of  God.' 

34.  Gennesaret.  Luke  v.  1.  The  plain  in  which  Capernaum  and 
Bethsaida  stood,  between  the  lake  and  the  hills,  gave  the  most 
familiar  name  to  the  lake. 

35.  The  rest  snatched  so  hardly,  the  experience  of  the  short 
journey,  had  endued  Him  with  new  power.     A  swift  recognition 


St.  MATTHEW  XIV.  36— XV.  2  137 

that  region  round  about,  and  brought  unto  him 
36  all  that  were  sick ;  and  they  besought  him  that 
they  might  only  touch  the  border  of  his  garment : 
and  as  many  as  touched  were  made  whole. 
15      Then  there  come  to  Jesus  from  Jerusalem 
2  Pharisees  and  scribes,  saying,  Why  do  thy  disci- 
came  to  men's  minds,  and  they  saw  that  they  had  among  them 
the  Healer,  the  Feeder,  the  Calmer  of  the  storms  of  life.     Now 
the  example  of  the  woman  who  touched  His  garment  (ix.   20) 
was  followed  by  many.     They  perceived  that  virtue  went  out  of 
Him  that  might  heal  them  all. 

It  is  a  marvellous  passage.  Persecuted,  driven  out  from  His 
land,  Jesus  is  always  the  same,  compassionate,  beneficent,  in 
communion  with  God,  ready  to  help  His  distressed  followers. 
We  are  not  often  in  the  storm,  which  requires  His  miraculous 
approach  across  the  waves ;  but  we  are  always  in  need  of  the 
bread  which  He  alone  can  give.  '  They  have  no  need  to  go 
away'  is  very  reassuring.  Out  of  the  scantiest  material  His  pre- 
sence and  power  will  make  a  sufficing  meal. 

Here  may  we  sit  and  dream 

Over  the  heavenly  theme, 
Till  to  our  soul  the  former  days  return  ; 

Till  on  the  grassy  bed, 

Where  thousands  once  He  fed 
The  world's  incarnate  Maker  we  discern. 

Ch.  xv.  Here  the  Lord  brings  out  His  great  truth  that  it  is  the 
inward  and  spiritual,  which  is  important,  and  not  the  outward 
and  material,  and  yet — He  feeds  the  hungry  with  bread  ;  He  also 
shows  that  His  earthly  ministry  was  to  Israel,  and  yet — He  could 
not  refuse  the  appeal  of  a  heathen  mother.  His  character  is  teres 
atque  rotuudiis. 

He  had  reached  the  summit  of  His  earthly  popularity,  and  now 
the  opposition  of  His  own  nation  steadily  pursues  Him,  till  it 
brings  Him  to  the  Cross.  Henceforth  He  is  essential^7  a  per- 
secuted fugitive  in  the  service  of  heavenly  truth. 

1-20.  Outward  and  inward  religion.  This  is  one  of  the 
paragraphs  in  the  Gospels  which,  standing  even  alone,  would 
constitute  a  spiritual  revolution. 

1.  The  Scribes  and  Pharisees  were  perhaps  deputed  by  the 
authorities  at  Jerusalem  to  come  and  watch  Him  because  He  had 
not  gone  up  to  the  Passover  (John  vii.  1).  He  was  prominent 
enough  to  make  His  absence  noticeable,  and  His  absence  was 
sufficiently  a  breach  of  the  Law  to  make  the  legalists  watchful. 

2.  The  ground  which  the  critics  from  Jerusalem  take  is  not,  to 
our  minds,  a  strong  one.     The  washing  before  meat  was  a  cleanly 


138 


St.  MATTHEW  XV.  3-6 


10r, 
surely  die 

2  Some 
ancient 
authori- 
ties add 
or  his 
mother. 

3  Some 
ancient 
authori- 
ties read 
iazv. 


pies  transgress  the  tradition  of  the  elders?  for 
they  wash  not  their  hands  when  they  eat  bread. 
And  he  answered  and  said  unto  them,  Why  do  3 
ye  also  transgress  the  commandment  of  God  be- 
cause of  your  tradition  ?    For  God  said,  Honour  4 
thy  father  and  thy  mother:  and,  He  that  speaketh 
evil  of  father  or  mother,  let  him  ■  die  the  death. 
But  ye  say,  Whosoever  shall  say  to  his  father  or  5 
his  mother,  That  wherewith  thou  mightest  have 
been  profited  by  me  is  given  to  God;  he  shall 
not   honour  his  father2.     And  ye  have  made  6 
void  the  3  word  of  God  because  of  your  tradition. 


custom,  but  it  was  not  a  requirement  of  the  law  ;  it  was,  as  they 
said,  a  '  tradition  of  the  elders1,  a  rabbinical  regulation.  But 
where  tradition  is  once  admitted  as  an  authority  it  rapidly  takes 
precedence.  In  the  Church  of  Rome  the  ecclesiastical  regula- 
tions, e.  g.  the  Fasts  and  Feasts,  or  the  celibacy  of  the  clergy  and 
monastic  vows,  are  enforced  with  a  greater  severity  than  the 
original  requirements  of  the  Gospel.  Fanaticism  is  easily 
awakened  in  the  defence  of  Tradition.* 

3.  Our  Lord  does  not  answer  the  question,  but  retorts  with 
another.  He  brings  out  the  weakness  of  all  Tradition ;  its 
tyranny  gradually  but  surely  reverses  the  primal  principles  of  the 
religion  which  it  endeavours  to  develop.  Had  His  disciples 
broken  the  tradition  of  the  elders  ?  The  Pharisaic  tradition  had 
violated  the  commandment  of  God. 

4.  God  said)  in  Mark  vii.  10,  'Moses  said.'  Thus  Jesus  attri- 
butes the  Law  of  Moses  to  God.  This  is  the  Fifth  Commandment 
(Exod.  xx.  12)  with  the  striking  enforcement  of  Exod.  xxi.  17. 
Jesus  evidently  includes  in  'honouring',  the  duty  of  supporting, 
parents. 

5.  The  usage  was,  that  if  a  man  allocated  his  money  to  God, 
and  called  it  A  Gift  (Corban)  he  would  be  exempt  from  the 
natural  claim  of  his  parents  on  his  help.  This  apparent  piety 
Jesus  calls  '  making  void  the  word  of  God '.  He  thus  places  filial 
duty  on  the  highest  plane  ;  a  religious  service  which  violates  it  is 
not  acceptable  to  God.  This  incidental  judgement  of  Christ  on 
the  relative  importance  of  duties  must  not  be  missed  in  the 
broader  question  of  the  conflict  between  tradition  and  revela- 
tion. 


St.    MATTHEW  XV.  7-12  139 

7  Ye  hypocrites,  well  did  Isaiah  prophesy  of  you, 
saying, 

8  This  people  honoureth  me  with  their  lips ; 
But  their  heart  is  far  from  me. 

9  But  in  vain  do  they  worship  me, 
Teaching  as  their  doctrines  the  precepts  of 

men. 

10  And  he  called  to  him  the  multitude,  and  said 

11  unto  them,  Hear,  and  understand:  Not  that 
which  entereth  into  the  mouth  defileth  the  man  ; 
but  that  which  proceeded  out  of  the  mouth,  this 

12  defileth  the  man.  Then  came  the  disciples,  and 
said  unto  him,  Knowest  thou  that  the  Pharisees 


7.  The  quotation  from  Isa.  xxix.  13  is  remarkably  apt.  '  The 
precepts  of  men  '  are  always  creeping  into  religion  and  over- 
riding it  ;  cf.  Col.  ii.  22  ;  Tit.  i.  14.  The  Roman  Church,  accept- 
ing the  principle  of  Tradition,  has  made  the  precepts  of  men  into 
doctrines,  to  such  a  degree  that  the  New  Testament  is  rightly 
regarded  as  a  danger  to  the  laity.  A  passage  like  the  one  before 
us  is  subversive  of  Roman  teaching. 

10.  He  turned  to  the  multitude  which,  since  His  recent 
miracles,  was  attentive  to  His  word,  ready  even  to  crown  Him, 
and  spoke  the  emancipating  word  which  implicitly  rescinds  the 
Levitical  regulations.  But  it  does  more  than  that,  it  shifts  the 
whole  of  religion  from  the  outward  and  material  to  the  inward 
and  the  moral.  And  though  His  appeal  '  Hear  and  understand  ' 
still  falls  on  unhearing  ears  and  ununderstanding  hearts,  the  word 
is  spoken  and  can  never  be  withdrawn;  it  wins  its  widening  way 
and  regenerates  wherever  it  is  accepted. 

11.  defileth.  The  verb  is  identical  with  the  adjective  in  Mark 
vii.  5  applied  to  the  hands.  It  means  to  make  common,  to  re- 
move the  barriers  and  restrictions  of  sanctity.  The  religion  of 
the  Law  sought  to  sanctify  the  people  by  prescribing  clean  food, 
and  b}r  protecting  the  body  from  ceremonial  defilement.  It  did  not 
overlook  the  moral  and  spiritual  altogether.  But  if  any  religious 
stress  is  laid  on  outward  things — such  is  human  nature  — the 
multitude  will  lay  a  disproportionate  stress  on  them,  to  the  neg- 
lect of  the  far  more  difficult  things  of  the  spirit.  It  is  so  easy  to 
wash  the  hands,  or  to  use  a  certain  kind  of  food  ;  it  is  so  hard  to 
wash  the  heart,  to  make  the  personal  influence  exercised  in  the 
world  clean. 


i4o  St.  MATTHEW  XV.   13-17 


i  Gr.  were  *  offended,  when  they  heard  this  saying  ? 

'stumble.     But  he  answered  and  said,  Every  -  plant  which  13 
\fanting     mv  heavenly  Father  planted  not,  shall  be  rooted 

up.  Let  them  alone :  they  are  blind  guides.  14 
And  if  the  blind  guide  the  blind,  both  shall  fall 
into  a  pit.  And  Peter  answered  and  said  unto  15 
him,  Declare  unto  us  the  parable.  And  he  said,  16 
Are  ye  also  even  yet  without  understanding? 
Perceive  ye  not,  that  whatsoever  goeth  into  the  1 7 
mouth  passeth  into  the  belly,  and  is  cast  out  into 

12.  The  Pharisees  were  offended,  scandalized  ;  that  was  in- 
evitable, because  with  the  emancipating  word,  the  whole  carefully 
reared  structure  of  Tradition  toppled  to  the  ground. 

13.  Jesus  was  not  affected  by  their  indignation.  He  fell  back 
on  the  great  principle,  that  in  the  long  run  only  what  God  pro- 
duces lasts.  The  word  used  for  'plant'  distinctly  means  a  culti- 
vated, as  distinguished  from  a  wild,  plant.  The  Pharisee  was 
a  product  not  of  the  Heavenly  Father's  planting,  but  of  man's 
perverted  ingenuity.  Bruce  explains  the  plant  as  the  teaching 
or  tradition  of  the  Pharisees.  But  as  ver.  18  goes  on  to  speak 
of  the  Pharisees  themselves,  it  is  more  probable  that  they  are 
meant.  The  Scribes  and  Pharisees  were  not,  as  Paul  would  saj', 
'God's  husbandry,  God's  building'  (1  Cor.  iii.  9).  How  the 
word  searches  us  !  If  we  are  not  of  His  planting,  however 
holy  and  religious  we  seem,  we  shall  be  rooted  up. 

14.  The  Lord's  serene  indifference  to  blind  guides,  and  His 
certainty  that  they  will  fall  into  the  ditch,  should  give  us  greater 
composure  in  the  face  of  errors,  and  calm  the  polemical  spirit. 
His  example  here  is  the  more  impressive  because  the  Tradition 
and  the  externalism  against  which  He  was  contending  last 
almost  unbroken  still. 

15.  Peter  is  always  ready  to  be  spokesman.  What  he  says 
here  is  a  little  inept.  The  Lord  had  not  uttered  a  parable,  but  a 
clear  moral  principle.  That  it  semed  a  parable,  a  dark  saying, 
an  enigma,  to  Peter,  shows  what  a  depth  of  prejudice  he  had  to 
be  raised  from.  The  density  surprised  even  Jesus — He  thought 
they  had  at  least  got  so  far  as  to  recognize  a  clear  direct  truth  like 
this. 

17.  Perhaps  the  broad  outspoken  tone  of  the  answer  is  itself 
a  reproach  to  this  stupidity.  He  uses  great  plainness  of  speech, 
to  convince  great  crassness  of  spirit.  Food  goes  through  the 
body,  and  never  touches  the  soul.  What  we  eat  cannot  make  us 
the  better  or  the  worse  in  a  moral   sense.     This    far-reaching 


St.  MATTHEW  XV.   18-23  t4t 

i 8  the  draught  ?  But  the  things  which  proceed  out 
of  the  mouth  come  forth  out  of  the  heart ;  and 

*9  they  defile  the  man.  For  out  of  the  heart  come 
forth  evil  thoughts,  murders,  adulteries,  fornica- 

20  tions,  thefts,  false  witness,  railings  :  these  are  the 
things  which  defile  the  man  :  but  to  eat  with  un- 
washen  hands  defileth  not  the  man. 

21  And  Jesus  went  out  thence,  and  withdrew  into 

22  the  parts  of  Tyre  and  Sidon.  And  behold,  a 
Canaanitish  woman  came  out  from  those  borders, 
and  cried,  saying,  Have  mercy  on  me,  O  Lord,  thou 
son  of  David  ;  my  daughter  is  grievously  vexed 

23  with  a  '  devil.    But  he  answered  her  not  a  word,  demon. 

utterance  might  have  saved  the  Church  from  all  her  superstitions 
if  she  had  had  ears  to  hear. 

18.  What  comes  out  of  the  heart— through  the  mouth  or  other- 
wise— defiles  the  man  :  evil  thoughts,  such  casuistry  of  tradition 
as  was  then  under  discussion.  Examine  the  conclusions  of 
Probabilism  in  the  Jesuit  schools,  and  you  see  the  real  springs  of 
human  corruption  ;  the  intellect  is  employed  to  excuse  and  con- 
done all  the  sins  which  are  here  enumerated :  murders,  adul- 
teries and  fornications,  thefts,  false  witness,  are  the  violations  of 
the  sixth,  seventh,  eight,  and  ninth  commandments,  as  the 
casuistry  of  the  Pharisees  was  of  the  fifth.  The  '  railings '  are 
'blasphemies'  against  God  or  man.  In  Mark  vii.  22  the  list  is 
enlarged.  All  evil  within  is  included ;  these  are  the  things 
which  defile,  just  as  all  merely  outward  things  are  excluded,  as 
well  as  eating  with  unwashen  hands.  The  principle  is  wide  and 
deep  and  universal. 

21-8.  Jesus  heals  the  daughter  of  a  Canaanitish  woman. 

31.  He  went  into  the  borders  of  Tyre  and  Sidon  to  get  quiet, 
and  to  escape  the  angry  Pharisees.  As  He  sent  His  disciples 
only  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel  (x.  6)  so,  He  con- 
ceives His  own  personal  mission  limited  to  His  own  people. 

22.  The  woman  is  called  a  Syro-Phoenician  by  Mark.  The 
Phoenicians  were  descended  from  a  colony  of  Canaanites  (Gen. 
x.  15).  She  was  a  heathen,  but  her  respectful  address  shows 
that  she  had  incipient  faith  in  Him.  Her  ascription  to  Him  of 
the  Messianic  title  '  Son  of  David '  was  perhaps  to  win  the 
favour  and  intercession  of  His  disciples.  She  knew  at  any  rate 
that  the  title  was  applied  to  Him. 

23.  The  silence  of  Jesus  is  explained  by  Bruce  :  'There  was 


142  St.  MATTHEW  XV.  24-28 

And  his  disciples  came  and  besought  him,  saying, 
Send  her  away ;  for  she  crieth  after  us.     But  he  24 
answered  and  said,  I  was  not  sent  but  unto  the 
lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel.    But  she  came  25 
and  worshipped  him,   saying,   Lord,   help  me. 
And  he  answered  and  said,  It  is  not  meet  to  26 
1  Or,  loaf,   take  the  children's  x  bread  and  cast  it  to  the 

dogs.     But  she  said,  Yea,  Lord :  for  even  the  2  7 
dogs  eat  of  the  crumbs  which  fall  from  their 
masters'  table.     Then  Jesus  answered  and  said  28 
unto  her,  O  woman,  great  is  thy  faith  :  be  it  done 


probably  a  mixture  of  feelings  in  Christ's  mind  at  this  time  ;  an 
aversion  to  recommence  just  then  a  healing  ministry  at  all,  a 
craving  for  rest  and  retirement  ;  a  disinclination  to  be  drawn  into 
a  ministry  among  a  heathen  people,  which  would  mar  the  unity 
of  His  career  as  a  prophet  of  God  to  Israel  (the  drama  of  His  life 
to  serve  its  purpose  must  respect  the  limits  of  time  and  place), 
a  secret  inclination  to  do  this  woman  a  kindness  if  it  could  in 
any  way  be  made  exceptional  ;  and  last  but  not  least,  a  feeling 
that  her  request  was  really  not  isolated  but  representative,  the 
Gentile  world  in  her  inviting  Him,  a  fugitive  from  His  own  land, 
to  come  over  and  help  them,  an  omen  of  the  transference  of  the 
kingdom  from  Jewish  to  Pagan  soil.' 

23.  The  disciples  wanted  to  be  rid  of  her.  Jesus  felt  other- 
wise. No  one  ever  came  to  Him  in  vain.  His  silence  and  His 
apparent  refusal  were  only  the  barriers  which  would  go  down 
before  His  pity. 

24.  He  stated  the  limits  of  His  personal  mission  in  such  a  way 
that  the  woman  conceived  hope  from  the  refusal,  and  fell  at  His 
feet  in  worship.  Still  He  kept  up  the  reluctance.  But  listen 
closely  and  you  perceive  why  she  recognized  His  intention 
behind  the  barrier.  He  was  testing,  and  deepening,  her  faith. 
He  was  eliciting,  and  forming,  her  character. 

26.  dogs.  The  Greek  word,  diminutive,  a  pet  name,  i.e.  not 
the  outcast  dogs  of  street  or  field,  but  the  dogs  at  the  hearth, 
whose  right  to  food  was  admitted.  She  catches  at  this  implica- 
tion, with  a  wit,  humility,  and  faith,  which  won  Christ's  admira- 
tion. 

27.  This  woman  asks  for  nothing  better  than  to  be  a  dog  in  the 
household  of  Jesus,  picking  up  the  mere  crumbs  from  His  rich 
table.     The  Syriac  adds  to  the  verse  '  and  live  '. 

28.  The  way  in  which  the  Master  grants  the  request,  whole- 


St.  MATTHEW  XV.  29-32  143 

unto  thee  even  as  thou  wilt.    And  her  daughter 
was  healed  from  that  hour. 

29  And  Jesus  departed  thence,  and  came  nigh 
unto  the  sea  of  Galilee ;  and  he  went  up  into 

30  the  mountain,  and  sat  there.  And  there  came 
unto  him  great  multitudes,  having  with  them  the 
lame,  blind,  dumb,  maimed,  and  many  others, 
and  they  cast  them  down  at  his  feet ;  and  he 

31  healed  them  :  insomuch  that  the  multitude  won- 
dered, when  they  saw  the  dumb  speaking,  the 
maimed  whole,  and  the  lame  walking,  and  the 
blind  seeing  :  and  they  glorified  the  God  of 
Israel. 

32  And  Jesus  called  unto  him  his  disciples,  and 
said,  I  have  compassion  on  the  multitude,  be- 


heartedly,  shows  how  willing  He  was  to  be  entreated.  Even 
while  His  mission  was  to  Israel,  no  human  being,  Phoenician, 
Greek,  or  Roman,  could  appeal  to  Him  in  vain. 

29-39.  He  retires  to  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Sea  of 
Galilee,  healing  and  feeding  the  people.  Matthew  is  not 
interested  in  the  geography  or  in  the  travelling.  Mark  is  a  little 
more  distinct.  Jesus  came  to  Decapolis,  the  group  of  Greek  cities 
which  lay  in  the  heart  of  the  territory  of  Herod  Philip.  In  the 
place  of  the  very  general  description  of  healing  ministry  here, 
Mark  gives  the  beautiful  incident  of  the  deaf  and  dumb  man  cured 
by  the  word  'Ephphatha'  (vii.  31-7). 

29.  the  mountain.  How  did  the  lame  and  the  helpless  climb  the 
hill  ?  The  Aramaic  tilra,  which  means  hill  also,  is  applied  to  a 
desert  (see  ver.  33),  because  in  Palestine  the  deserts  are  hilly, 
very  much  as  the  word  '  forest '  came  to  mean  a  wood,  because 
'  forests '  were  generally  wooded.  Perhaps,  therefore,  we  may 
think  here  only  of  the  hilly  desert  which  is  so  characteristic  of 
the  country,  not  of  a  high  mountain. 

30.  maimed.  According  to  Euthymius  Zigabenus,  this  meant 
'  handless  '.  Often  the  lepers  are  seen  in  this  maimed  state.  It 
is  implied  that  Christ's  healing  power  included  the  restoration  of 
lost  limbs.     The  vital  sap,  induced  by  faith,  re-creates. 

32-9.  The  second  miracle  of  feeding.  It  is  quite  clear  that 
the  evangelist  wishes  to  record  two  miraculous  feedings  of  the 
multitude  ;  the  criticism  which  attempts  to  blend  them  into  one 


144  St.  MATTHEW  XV.  33-36 

cause  they  continue  with  me  now  three  days  and 
have  nothing  to  eat :  and  I  would  not  send  them 
away  fasting,  lest  haply  they  faint  in  the  way. 
And  the  disciples  say  unto  him,  Whence  should  33 
we  have  so  many  loaves  in  a  desert  place,  as  to 
fill  so  great  a  multitude  ?    And  Jesus  saith  unto  34 
them,  How  many  loaves  have  ye?     And  they 
said,  Seven,  and  a  few  small  fishes.     And  he  35 
commanded  the  multitude  to  sit  down  on  the 
ground ;  and  he  took  the  seven  loaves  and  the  36 
fishes ;  and  he  gave  thanks  and  brake,  and  gave 

is  broken  on  the  specific  differences — the  number  fed  in  the  two 
cases,  5,000  and  4,000  ;  the  supplies  in  ch.  xiv  five,  and  here 
seven  loaves  ;  the  fragments,  there  filling  twelve  cophini  and 
here  seven  spurides.  Besides,  when  Jesus  refers  to  His  miracles 
He  definitely  mentions  the  two  (xvi.  9-10).  It  is  also  plain  that  if 
He  did  this  act  of  supernatural  grace  once  He  could  do  it  twice. 
Westcott  mooted  an  old  theory,  that  the  first  miracle  was  wrought 
for  Israelites,  and  the  second  for  strangers.  If  this  be  so,  the 
spiritual  bearing  of  the  work  is  plain,  the  flesh  that  He  gives,  His 
body,  is  for  the  life,  not  of  Israel  only,  but  of  the  whole  world. 

32.  I  have  compassion.  This  second  narrative  is  justified,  if  only 
by  these  lovely  words  on  the  lips  of  Jesus.  We  hear  Him 
speaking  ;  we  feel  the  human  heart,  so  far  removed  from  the 
callousness  of  the  doctrinaire.  He  who  is  so  emphatic  in 
declaring  that  what  enters  into  a  man  is  of  secondary  importance, 
He  who  urges  men  to  labour  not  for  the  meat  which  perishes,  is 
the  first  to  feel  the  pathos  of  the  hungry  crowd,  which  for  three 
days  has  been  hanging  on  His  lips  or  seeking  the  touch  of  His 
hand  for  their  sick. 

33.  The  disciples  had  not  learnt  to  count  on  the  Lord's  power. 
It  is  curious  how  quickly  we  forget  His  miraculous  interferences 
and  deliverances.  We  try  to  explain  them  away,  or  to  resolve 
them  into  natural  occurrences  and  coincidences.  Consequently, 
when  another  trouble  comes,  we  are  in  the  old  state  of  unbelief 
and  dejection,  instead  of  confident  from  past  experience,  that  His 
love  and  power  will  suffice. 

36.  gave  thanks.  This  is  the  evxapiarrjcas,  which  in  the  former 
narrative  was  used  by  John  ;  cf.  xxvi.  27  ;  and  Acts  xxvii.  35.  It 
was  not  yet  the  Eucharist,  but  it  typifies  that  miraculous  meal  by 
which  the  body  of  Christ  is  fed.  In  the  Old  Testament  the 
miracle  of  Elisha  foreshadows  this  miracle  of  our  Lord  (2  Kings 
iv.  42-4). 


St.  Matthew  xv.  37— xvi.  1  i4$ 

to  the  disciples,  and  the  disciples  to  the  multi- 

37  tudes.  And  they  did  all  eat,  and  were  filled  : 
and  they  took  up  that  which  remained  over  of 

38  the  broken  pieces,  seven  baskets  full.  And  they 
that  did  eat  were  four  thousand  men,  beside 

39  women  and  children.  And  he  sent  away  the 
multitudes,  and  entered  into  the  boat,  and  came 
into  the  borders  of  Magadan. 

16  And  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  came,  and 
tempting  him  asked  him  to  shew  them  a  sign 

37.  The  basket  here  (atrvpis  is  much  larger  than  the  Kuipuos  of 
ch.  xiv.  In  one  case,  at  any  rate,  a  crnvpls  was  large  enough  to 
hold  a  man,  though  perhaps  only  a  little  man  (Acts  ix.  25).  Each 
loaf,  when  the  4,000  are  fed,  is  big  enough  to  fill  this  large  recep- 
tacle. It  is  a  sign.  Christ's  grace  is  only  indefinitely  in- 
creased for  each,  when  we  have  shared  it  with  the  multitude. 

39.  Magadan.  Of  this  town  there  is  no  trace.  Mark  (viii.  10) 
mentions  Dalmanutha  ;  but  that  is  equally  unknown.  From  the 
mention  of  'the  other  side'  in  xvi.  5  we  should  infer  that  it  was 
on  the  western  shore  of  the  Lake.  On  the  other  hand,  some 
think  it  is  to  be  sought  in  Maked  of  1  Mace.  v.  26,  36.  Cheyne 
suggests  Migdalnunia,  a  suburb  of  Tiberias.  For  us,  at  any  rate, 
we  only  can  say  that  after  His  deed  of  mercy  He  withdrew  again 
into  a  place  of  obscurity,  seeking  it  as  a  retreat  from  the  now 
avowed  hostility  of  the  religious  leaders.  When  some  MSS. 
read  Magdala,  it  is  only  to  substitute  a  known  for  an  un- 
known place.     But  the  point  for  us  is  that  it  is  unknown. 

Ch.  xvi.  This  great  chapter  forms  a  climax  in  the  Gospel.  It 
opens  with  a  fresh  picture  of  the  hostilit}'  gathering  among  the 
Jewish  parties  ;  it  moves  on  to  the  critical  point  at  which  one 
disciple  confessed  the  Lord,  and  thereby  the  foundation  of  the 
Church  was  laid  ;  and  immediately  the  Cross  was  opened  up,  as 
the  means  of  the  Church's  victory.  Bruce  marks  the  significance 
of  the  chapter  by  calling  it  the  opening  of  the  fifth  act  of  the 
drama.     We  may  therefore  divide  it  thus  : — A  sign   demanded 

(l-I2)  ;  THE  CONFESSION  MADE  (13-20)  J  THE  CROSS  IN  VIEW  (2I-28). 

1-12.  Pharisees  and  Sadducees.  The  two  hostile  sects  combine 
against  Jesus.  In  Mark  the  Herodians  are  referred  to  (viii.  15). 
Probably  the  Sadducees,  the  intellectual  and  aristocratic  party, 
were  to  a  large  extent  identical  with  the  Herod-party.  They 
gathered  round  a  great  earthly  potentate,  and  saw  in  the  political 
power  of  a  native  prince  the  security  for  their  thoroughly  material 
and  worldly  religious  state. 

L 


146 


St.  MATTHEW  XVI.  2-8 


1  The  fol- 
lowing 
words,  to 
the  end  of 
ver.  3,  are 
omitted  by 
some  of 
the  most 
ancient 
and  other 
impoitant 
authori- 
ties. 


2Gr. 

loaves. 


%  Or,  it  is 
because  we 
took  no 
bread. 


from  heaven.      But  he  answered  and  said  unto  2 
them,  '  When  it  is  evening,  ye  say,  It  will  be  fair 
weather :  for  the  heaven  is  red.     And  in  the  3 
morning,  It  will  be  foul  weather  to-day  :  for  the 
heaven  is  red  and  lowring.    Ye  know  how  to 
discern  the  face  of  the  heaven ;  but  ye  cannot 
discern  the  signs  of  the  times.     An  evil  and  4 
adulterous  generation  seeketh  after  a  sign;  and 
there  shall  no  sign  be  given  unto  it,  but  the  sign 
of  Jonah.     And  he  left  them,  and  departed. 

And  the  disciples  came  to  the  other  side  and  5 
forgot  to  take 2  bread.   And  Jesus  said  unto  them,  6 
Take  heed  and  beware  of  the  leaven  of  the 
Pharisees  and  Sadducees.     And  they  reasoned  7 
among  themselves,  saying, 3  We  took  no  2  bread. 
And  Jesus  perceiving  it  said,  O  ye  of  little  faith,  8 


1.  This  is  a  doublet  of  xii.  38.  The  two  passages  may  refer  to 
the  same  occasion  ;  they  are  inserted  to  give  the  full  answer  of 
Jesus  to  this  natural  demand  for  a  '  sign  '. 

2.  He  sighed,  says  Mark,  at  the  spiritual  blindness  of  the  rulers 
of  His  people.  A  sign  was  before  them  clear  as  the  familiar  signs 
of  the  weather  in  the  sky.  He  himself  was  the  sign,  and  they 
could  not  read  it. 

3.  The  red  in  the  sky  they  thought  was  the  eve  of  a  good  time 
coming ;  it  was  the  morning  of  the  judgement  day,  red  and  lowering. 

4.  In  brief  and  almost  scornful  directness  He  threw  at  them  the 
sign  of  Jonah ;  Jonah's  fruitless  preaching  to  the  men  of 
Nineveh— fruitless  because  Nineveh  repented  only  to  relapse — and 
departed. 

5.  They  crossed  the  Lake  from  the  western  shore  (Magadan  ?) 
to  the  north-east,  where  they  could  start  for  the  Lebanon.  Mark 
implies  that  the  conversation  took  place  on  board,  and  that  they 
had  one  loaf  with  them.  At  any  rate,  the  supply  was  insufficient, 
and  Jesus  left  to  them  the  commissariat.  Their  thought  was  full 
of  the  material ;  Jesus  was  absorbed  in  the  late  encounter  with 
Pharisees  and  Sadducees. 

8.  Jesus  was  grieved  with  them  that  they  should  think  Him 
concerned  about  so  secondary  a  thing  as  the  supply  of  bread  ; 
grieved  also,  because  they  did  not  read  the  lesson  of  the  two 
miraculous  multiplications  of  the  loaves. 


St.  MATTHEW  XVI.  9-13  147 

why  reason  ye  among  yourselves,   because  ye 
9  have  no  ■  bread  ?  Do  ye  not  yet  perceive,  neither  1  Gr. 

remember  the  five  loaves  of  the  five  thousand, 
io  and  how  many  2 baskets  ye  took  up?    Neither  ^ Ba*kct 
the  seven  loaves  of  the  four  thousand,  and  how  aml  IO  re- 

7  presents 

1 1  many  2  baskets  ye  took  up  ?     How  is  it  that  ye  different 
do  not  perceive  that  I  spake  not  to  you  concern-  words, 
ing  *  bread?     But  beware  of  the  leaven  of  the 

12  Pharisees  and  Sadducees.  Then  understood  they 
how  that  he  bade  them  not  beware  of  the  leaven 
of  '  bread,  but  of  the  teaching  of  the  Pharisees 
and  Sadducees. 

13  Now  when  Jesus  came  into  the  parts  of 
Caesarea  Philippi,  he  asked  his  disciples,  saying, 

9.  The  careful  mention  of  the  two  miracles,  with  the  specific 
baskets,  cop/ii/ii  in  one  case  and  spu  rides  in  the  other,  is  proof  that 
two  miracles  were  performed,  as  far  as  literary  or  historic  proof 
can  be  offered  of  such  events. 

11.  By  the  leaven  He  meant  (Matthew  thinks}  the  teaching  of 
the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  (cf.  v.  20).  Mark,  referring  to  the 
1  leaven  of  Herod  ',  does  not  take  the  leaven  to  be  teaching,  for 
Herod  was  no  teacher.  By  the  leaven  He  most  probably  meant 
the  whole  influence  of  the  Jewish  leaders  (cf.  xxiii.  3),  the  spirit 
they  showed,  the  hardened  inaccessibility  to  new  truth.  It  was 
not  so  much  a  doctrine  as  a  Zeitgeist,  which  was  in  the  mind  of 
Jesus.  The  doctrine  might  have  been  true  and  impeccable,  but  the 
spirit  which  prevailed  would  have  made  it  poison. 

13-20.  The  Church  is  built  on  the  confession  of  one  be- 
liever in  Christ.  The  scene  of  the  great  confession  was  beyond 
the  borders  of  Israel.  The  name  of  the  place,  Caesarea  Philippi, 
anciently  Paneas,  now  Banias,  is  significant.  Paneas  was  named 
after  Pan,  the  god  of  universal  nature  ;  it  was  rebuilt  and  renamed 
by  Herod  Philip,  the  only  good  son  of  Herod  the  Great ;  he  called  it 
Caesarea  as  a  compliment  to  the  Roman  Emperor.  It  thus  seemed 
to  embody  the  religious  and  the  political  ideals  of  the  ancient  world, 
and  especially  of  Israel.  Situated  at  the  foot  of  Lebanon,  it  is 
'a  place  of  exceedingly  beautiful  picturesque  surroundings,  with 
which  few  spots  in  the  Holy  Land  can  be  compared.  What  a  rush 
of  many  waters !  what  a  wealth  and  variety  of  vegetation  ! ' 
exclaims  Furrer.  It  was  then  a  fit  scene  for  the  momentous  con- 
fession which  founded  the  Church  (ver.  13).    The  question  put  by 

L  2 


148  St.  MATTHEW  XVI.  14-17 

i  Many       Who  do  men  say  *  that  the  Son  of  man  is  ?  And  *4 

ancient 

authori-      they  said,  Some  say  John  the  Baptist :  some, 

ties  read  .  *. 

that i the    Elijah  :  and  others,   Jeremiah,   or   one  of  the 
man  am.    prophets.     He  saith  unto  them,  But  who  say  ye  J5 
viii.  i7;       that  I  am?     And  Simon  Peter  answered  and  16 
18.  said,  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living 

God.     And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him,  1 1 
Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Bar-Jonah :  for  flesh 

Jesus  gave  the  opportunity.  He  wished  to  see  if  in  His  immediate 
circle  the  kind  of  faith  was  yet  apparent  which  was  manifestly 
lacking  outside.  He  led  up  to  the  personal  question  by  asking 
what  men  in  general  thought  of  Him.  Opinions  were  divided 
between  the  prophets,  who,  according  to  popular  expectation, 
were  all  to  come  back  to  life.  The  expectation  about  John  is 
expressed  in  the  fear  of  Herod  Antipas  (xiv.  2).  The  expectation 
about  Elijah  was  derived  from  Mai.  iv.  5.  The  expectation  that 
Jeremiah  would  return  rested  on  the  slender  ground  of  2  Mace.  ii. 
i-8.  All  that  the  most  enthusiastic  people  discerned  in  Jesus 
was  '  one  of  the  prophets  '. 

15.  But  what  idea  had  the  disciples  formed  of  their  Master  after 
these  many  months  of  intimate  experience  ?  Their  dullness  of 
perception  had  just  been  illustrated  afresh  (ver.  11).  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  imagine  that  any  of  them  had  come  to  a  clear  conclusion. 
The  answer  which  broke  from  the  impetuous  lips  of  Peter  was, 
therefore,  flashed  into  his  mind  by  God ;  it  was  one  of  those 
utterances  to  which  the  second  epistle  of  Peter  afterwards 
referred :  *  men  spake  from  God,  being  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost '  (2  Pet.  i.  21).  The  confession  of  Jesus  was  from  the  first 
recognized  as  a  supernatural  revelation  (1  John  iv.  2)  ;  it  never 
comes  from  'flesh  and  blood  ',  i.  e.  the  simply  human  part  of  us. 

16.  Strange  to  say,  the  form  of  confession  varies  in  our  three 
sources.  In  Mark  (viii.  29),  which  we  suppose  represents  Peter's 
version  of  the  incident,  the  words  are  only  :  '  Thou  art  the  Christ.' 
In  Luke  ix.  20  it  is  :  '  Thou  art  the  Christ  of  God.'  Matthew 
combines  and  expands  the  two. 

Son  of  the  living  God.  For  '  living  '  D  has  '  saving '  (i.  e. 
odvfrvros  for  £u/vtos).  Undoubtedly  the  main  point  of  the  confession 
was  that  Peter  recognized  in  Jesus  the  Messias  (Christ)  and 
thereby  became  a  Christian  (cf.  1  Pet.  iv.  16).  The  peculiar  rela- 
tion of  the  Son  to  the  Father  on  which  Jesus  had  Himself 
expatiated  (Matt.  xi.  25-30)  was  understood  ;  and,  therefore, 
Matthew  does  not  hesitate  to  express  it  in  the  form  of  the 
confession. 

17-19.   Peter   and  the   Rock.     These   verses  occur  only  in 


St.  MATTHEW  XVI.  18  149 

and  blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but 
18  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.     And  I  also  say  } 
unto  thee,  that  thou  art  1  Peter,  and  upon  this  Fetros. 

2  Ct 

2  rock  I  will  build  my  church ;  and  the  gates  of  para. 


Matthew.  It  is  very  remarkable  that  the  earliest  source,  Mark, 
giving  Peters  version,  says  nothing  of  the  dignity  conferred  on 
Peter,  but  only  records  the  rebuke,  'Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan' 
(Mark  viii.  33).  Luke  omits  all  that  was  said  to  Peter  personally. 
His  confession  stands,  but  he  is  neither  praised  nor  rebuked. 
Wellhausen  thinks  that  the  words  could  not  have  been  known  to 
Peter  or  written  in  his  lifetime.  Certainly  there  is  no  indication 
in  the  Acts  or  the  Epistles  that  Peter  was  aware  of  them.  We 
may  surmise  that  the  saying  of  ver.  18  is  reported  by  one  evan- 
gelist because  it  is  important,  but  it  is  only  reported  by  one,  lest 
its  importance  should  be  exaggerated.  It  must  be  evident  to  all, 
that  if  the  saying  had  meant  what  the  Papal  See  sa3Ts  it  did,  it 
would  not  only  have  been  carefully  recorded  in  each  of  the 
Gospels,  but  also  referred  to  in  all  the  New  Testament  literature. 
If  Christ  conferred  on  the  Popes  a  universal  supremacy  in  the 
Church,  He  conferred  it  on  Peter  ;  for  on  these  words  to  Peter 
the  claim  rests.  But  if  He  conferred  it  on  Peter,  Peter  was 
ignorant  of  it  (see  r  Peter  v.  1-4),  and  certainly  Paul  did  not 
recognize  it  (Gal.  ii.  11). 

17.  The  blessing  is  given  in  set  and  stately  phrase,  and  the  full 
name  of  Peter  is  uttered,  'Simon,  son  of  Jonah,' just  as  under 
strong  feeling  we  still  sometimes  address  a  friend  with  his  full  tale 
of  names  and  titles.  '  Flesh  and  blood,'  according  to  Wellhausen, 
includes  Jesus  Himself  during  the  time  of  His  incarnate  life.  The 
truth  had  come  from  the  Father,  through  the  Spirit  (see  1  Cor. 
xii.  3). 

18.  Already,  very  early  in  their  mutual  relations,  according  to 
John  i.  42,  Jesus  had  given  to  Simon  the  Aramaic  name,  Kepha, 
meaning  a  stone.  This,  no  doubt,  is  the  Fourth  Evangelist's  way 
of  minimizing  the  personal  element  in  these  words  of  Matthew. 
The  name  Kepha  or  Peter  was  given  to  Simon  at  once,  without 
any  reference  to  the  meaning  of  the  word.  There  were  two 
Simons  among  the  Twelve  (x.  2,  4%  and  it  was  necessary  to  dis- 
tinguish them.  When  Kepha  was  the  first  to  confess  Him,  Jesus 
played  upon  his  name:  'Thou  art  Kepha,  on  Kepha  (sc.  rock) 
will  I  build.'  Wellhausen  thinks  that  the  Church  was  built  on  the 
Risen  Lord,  and  Peter  was  the  first  to  see  Him.  The  commoner 
view  is  that  the  Church  is  built  en  the  confession  of  Christ,  and 
Peter  was  the  first  to  make  that  confession. 

my  church.     Onty  here  and  in  xviii.  17,  on  the  lips  of  Jesus. 
He  would  use  the  Aramaic  K'w'sch/a,  which  meant  a  synagogue. 


150  St.  MATTHEW  XVI.  19-21 

Hades  shall  not  prevail  against  it.     I  will  give  19 
unto  thee  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven : 
and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind  on  earth  shall 
be  bound  in  heaven :  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt 
loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven.    Then  20 
charged  he  the  disciples  that  they  should  tell  no 
man  that  he  was  the  Christ. 
1  Some  From  that  time  began  x  Jesus  to  shew  unto  his  21 

authori-      disciples,  how  that  he  must  go  unto  Jerusalem, 
Jesus        and  suffer  many  things  of  the  elders  and  chief 
priests  and  scribes,  and  be  killed,  and  the  third 

The  Greek  word  'ecclesia'  occurs  in  the  LXX  (Deut.  xviii.   16, 
xxiii.  2)  for  the  '  assembly  of  the  Lord  '. 

the  gates  of  Hades  (Job  xxxviii.  17  ;  Isa.  xxxviii.  10)  is 
equivalent  to  the  grave,  that  is,  the  bourne  of  all  things  mortal ; 
but  Christ's  Church,  the  assembly  of  souls  founded  on  belief  in 
Him  as  Messias,  is  not  mortal. 

19.  For  Church  is  immediately  substituted  kingdom.  The  kej7 
is  a  symbol  of  rule  (Isa.  xxii.  22)  because  it  unlocks  the  gates. 
Cf.  Wisd.  xvi.  13  :  Wisdom  leads  down  to  the  gates  of  Hades 
and  leads  up  again.  In  Rev.  i.  18,  iii.  7  Christ  Himself  retains 
the  key.  But  this  first  believer  wields  the  authority  of  Christ ; 
as  fresh  believers  are  added,  they  receive  the  same  authority 
(xviii.  18).  This  authority  is  wielded  through  teaching,  for  to 
bind  and  loose  is  the  Jewish  phrase  for  pronouncing  anything 
forbidden  or  permissible.  Thus  the  Church  is  extended  and 
governed  by  Truth,  communicated  to,  and  by,  those  who  confess 
Christ  (cf.  xiii.  52).  It  is  by  teaching,  not  by  sacerdotal  mysteries, 
that  Christ  intends  us  to  wield  the  powers  of  His  kingdom. 
His  agents  are  not  a  special  order  in  the  Church,  but  the  Church 
itself  composed  of  faithful  men. 

20.  This  follows  at  once  on  ver.  16,  in  Mark's  version  viii.  30. 
Directly  Peter  confessed  Christ,  the  disciples  were  forbidden  to 
make  known  who  Jesus  was,  because  the  main  anxiety  of  Jesus 
was,  that  there  should  be  no  popular  movement,  involving 
mistaken  ideas  and  misleading  hopes;  He  wanted  believers  to  be 
gathered  quietly  and  deliberately,  and  by  silent  processes  of 
conviction. 

21-8.  The  Cross  in  vif.w.  Directly  the  faith  of  the  disciples 
had  struck  root,  it  had  to  bear  the  strain  of  this  dread  announce- 
ment. We  do  not  know  when  Jesus  reached  the  conviction  that 
the  hostility  of  the  authorities  would  end  in  His  death  ;  but  from 
the  time  that   He   began   to  communicate  it  to  His  disciples,  it 


St.  MATTHEW  XVI.  22-24  151 

22  day  be  raised  up.     And  Peter  took  him,  and 
began  to  rebuke  him,  saying,  !  Be  it  far  from  >  Or,  God 

23  thee,  Lord  :  this  shall  never  be  unto  thee.     But  mercy  on 
he  turned,  and  said  unto  Peter,  Get  thee  behind 
me,  Satan  :  thou  art  a  stumblingblock  unto  me  : 
for  thou  mindest  not  the  things  of  God,  but  the 

24  things  of  men.    Then  said  Jesus  unto  his  dis- 
ciples, If  any  man  would  come  after  me,  let  him 


thee 


filled  His  mind  and  coloured  all  His  teaching.  Henceforth  we 
see  Him  going  consciously  and  deliberately  forward  to  be 
murdered  ;  but  He  is  as  sure  of  being  raised  on  the  third  day  as 
He  is  of  dying. 

21.  The  elders,  chief  priests,  and  scribes,  are  the  three  orders 
that  constituted  the  Sanhedrin  ;  His  death  was  to  be  the  work  of 
the  highest  authority  in  Israel. 

23.  Was  Peter  elated  by  the  praise  and  promise  which  had 
just  been  given  to  him  ?  Was  his  head  turned  by  the  personal 
dignity  which  seemed  to  be  implied  ?  His  rebuke  to  his  Master 
is  patronizing.  Peter  would  have  Him  a  conquering,  not  a  suffer- 
ing Messiah.  He  had  the  notion  that  the  kingdom  could  be 
established  by  the  sword  (John  xviii.  10). 

Be  it  far  from  thee,  Lord!  literally,  'God  be  propitious  to 
thee,'  which  would  be  even  more  insolent  to  the  Lord  whom  he 
had  just  acknowledged  as  Son  of  God.  But  the  Greek  idiom  only 
means:  'God  forbid'  (cf.  i  Mace.  ii.  21;  2  Sam.  xxiii.  17). 
If  the  Roman  Church  were  right  in  basing  the  Papal  authority 
on  the  promise  to  Peter,  it  would  be  an  ominous  start  for  infallible 
Popes  that  the  founder  of  the  order  should  begin  his  utterances 
with  this  foolish  and  irreverent  remark. 

this  shall  never  be  unto  thee!  The  very  thing  which  was  to 
purchase  the  Church  as  the  Lord's  possession,  and  to  cleanse  the 
hearts  of  all  true  believers.  We  wonder  whether  Peter's  con- 
fession in  ver.  16  was  worth  much,  whether  it  was  not  after  all 
a  movement  of  the  Spirit  in  him  with  which  his  own  intelligence 
and  conviction  had  little  to  do.  But  for  our  weak  and  unthinking 
faith  it  is  a  consolation,  that  Christ  sees  a  potency  in  a  thing  so 
small. 

23.  Nothing,  however,  hinders  the  Master  from  frankly  rebuking 
the  first  believer.  At  once  he  is  a  Satan,  a  tempter,  and 
a  stumblingblock  (<TKav5akov)  to  his  Lord.  The  Greek  phrase 
translated  'mindest  not  the  things,  &c. '  is  equivalent  to  saying: 
'you  are  not  on  God's  side  but  on  men's'  (Rom.  viii.  5; 
Phil.  iii.  19  ;  Col.  iii.  2 ;  on  the  other  hand  see  Phil.  ii.  5  for 
having  the  mind  of  Christ). 


1 52  St.  MATTHEW  XVI.  25-28 

deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross,  and  follow 
*  Or,  sou/   me.     For  whosoever  would  save  his  Mife  shall  25 
lose  it:  and  whosoever  shall  lose  his  Mife  for 
my  sake  shall  find  it.     For  what  shall  a  man  be  26 
profited,  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world,  and 
forfeit  his  '  life  ?  or  what  shall  a  man  give  in 
exchange  for  his  Mife?     For  the  Son  of  man  27 
shall  come  in  the  glory  of  his  Father  with  his 
angels ;  and  then  shall  he  render  unto  every 
2  Gr.  man  according  to  his  2  deeds.    Verily  I  say  unto  28 

you,  There  be  some  of  them  that  stand  here, 

24.  So  far  from  evading  the  Cross  Himself,  Jesus  now  explains 
that  His  true  disciples  must  take  it  too.  This  is  a  doublet  of 
x-  38>  39«  As  His  own  Cross  comes  nearer,  He  lays  more  stress 
on  the  cross  of  His  followers.  At  first  He  used  the  phrase 
1  taking  up  the  Cross '  as  a  metaphorical  expression  for  suffering 
and  ignominy.  But  now  it  becomes  distinct  as  a  literal 
experience. 

25.  for  my  sake.  In  Mark  is  added  '  and  the  gospel's',  to  show 
that  the  cross  would  be  chiefly  incurred  in  proclaiming  His 
gospel.  The  cross  comes  to  us  in  man}'  forms,  but  we  cannot  be 
quite  satisfied  with  ourselves,  unless  we  find  it  coming  in  this 
specific  form,  'for  the  gospel's  sake.' 

26.  As  one  word  in  Greek  means  '  life '  and  '  soul '  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  render  accurately  in  English.  But  if  one  alternative 
is  to  be  taken,  '  soul '  here  comes  nearer  to  the  meaning  than  '  life '. 
We  can  only  get  the  real  thought,  however,  by  translating  ipvxrj 
1  life '  in  ver.  25,  and  *  soul '  in  ver.  26.  This  deep  utterance 
reveals  the  worth  of  the  individual  soul  in  Christ's  eyes.  Life  in 
the  physical  sense  is  not  of  transcendent  importance  ;  and  though 
we  will  give  much  to  keep  it,  no  good  man,  no  brave  man,  would 
give  all.  Certainly  Jesus  did  not  wish  to  imply  that  life  was  to 
be  kept  at  all  costs  ;  rather  He  was  preparing  men  to  la}'  it  down 
for  His  sake.  But  the  soul,  the  immortal  and  heavenly  principle 
in  us,  is  worth  everything,  and  we  may  well  sacrifice  all  to  save 
it ;  for  there  is  a  future. 

27.  Respice  finem  :  we  are  to  keep  our  eyes  on  the  final  scene, 
when  the  Son  of  Man  will  award  finally  on  each  man's  deeds. 
In  that  assize  of  Father,  Son  and  angels,  the  laying  down  of  life, 
for  Christ's  sake  and  the  gospel's,  will  appear  to  have  been  the 
gaining  of  the  soul. 

28.  It  is  difficult  to  be  sure  of  the  reference  in  this  saying. 
The  '  coming  in  the  kingdom '  seems   to  mean  the  apocalyptic 


St.  MATTHEW  XVII.  1  153 

which  shall  in  no  wise  taste  of  death,  till  they 
see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  his  kingdom. 
17      And  after  six  days   Jesus  taketh  with    him 


coming  of  Dan.  vii.  13.  But  if  that  were  the  Lord's  meaning,  we 
should  have  to  admit  that  His  words  were  not  fulfilled.  All  that 
circle  of  hearers  died,  and  generations  have  passed,  and  the  king- 
dom is  not  yet  come  in  that  full  and  final  sense.  The  phrase 
'taste  of  death'  limits  the  meaning  to  the  span  of  earthly  life  : 
He  declared  that  some  of  His  disciples  would  see  the  coming 
before  their  term  of  3'ears  on  earth  was  over.  What  did  He 
mean  ?  However  great  may  be  the  objections  against  the 
received  view,  it  is  more  plausible  than  any  other,  viz.  we  must 
connect  this  promise  with  the  event  next  recorded  in  the 
synoptic  narrative,  the  Transfiguration.  And  if  John  xii.  20-36 
may  be  regarded  as  the  Johannine  equivalent  of  the  Transfigura- 
tion, the  voice  from  heaven  (ver.  28)  saying  that  the  divine  name 
should  be  glorified,  that  confirms  the  interpretation.  The  Son  of 
Man  came  in  His  kingdom,  not  by  the  apocalyptic  advent  at  the 
end  only,  but  by  those  manifestations  of  His  glory  and  the 
confirming  voice  from  heaven  which  made  the  Transfiguration  so 
memorable  (see  especially  2  Pet.  i.  17).  Though  this  explanation 
seems  hardly  to  give  full  value  to  the  solemn  asseveration  'shall 
not  taste  of  death  until',  it  enables  us  to  grasp  a  great  principle, 
which  we  too  easily  let  slip,  viz.  that  Christ's  coming  began  from 
the  first  and  is  manifested  gradually  to  the  end.  Possibly  in 
every  assembly  of  His  people  He  could  repeat  the  promise  of 
this  verse  ;  and  we  should  pray  that  we  may  have  eves  to  see 
His  coming. 

Ch.  xvii.  Transfiguration  ;  healing  the  demoniac  ;  renewed 

FORESHOWING  OF  DEATH  ;    PAYING  THE  TRIBUTE-MONEY.       '  From  the 

mount  of  transfiguration  to  money  demands  which  one  is  too  poor 
to  meet,  what  a  descent  ! '  exclaims  Bruce  :  and  the  descent  is 
through  a  lamentable  instance  of  His  disciples'  little  faith  (ver.  20), 
and  through  a  fresh  realization  of  the  approaching  sacrifice. 
Raphael's  picture  in  the  Vatican  attempts  to  bring  into  one  view  the 
glory  on  the  mount,  and  the  scene  of  distraction  and  healing  at  the 
foot.  Matthew  presents  an  even  greater  contrast ;  he  shows  at  one 
glance  the  wonderful  Person  of  Jesus,  and  an  effect  of  that  unique 
personality  in  its  hour  of  unique  dedication  (A.  B.  Davidson),  and 
the  poverty  which  has  not  a  coin  to  give  as  tribute,  the  humi- 
liation of  the  Lord  of  all  being  taxed  as  a  subject.  Yet,  rightly 
understood,  the  glory  of  Jesus  is  as  manifest  in  '  that  take,  and 
give  unto  them  for  thee  and  me'  as  in  'his  face  did  shfne  as  the 
sun,  and  his  garments  became  white  as  the  light '. 

1-13.  The  Transfiguration.  This  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  formal 
preparation  for  the  death,  as  the  baptism  was  the  formal  prepara- 


i54  St.  MATTHEW  XVII.  2 

Peter,  and  James,  and  John  his  brother,  and 
bringeth  them  up  into  a  high  mountain  apart : 
and  he  was  transfigured  before  them :  and  his  a 

tion  for  the  life.  At  the  baptism  the  Spirit  descended  on  Him  ; 
here  the  spiritual  light  streams  from  Him.  As  a  manifestation  to 
the  prepared  inner  circle  of  the  disciples,  the  scene  was  designed 
to  irradiate  the  Redeemer's  sufferings,  to  transfigure  the  Cross. 
Before  He  was  exposed  to  the  humiliation  and  ignominy  of  that 
bitter  death,  it  was  necessary  to  show  who  He  was,  the  Lord 
from  Heaven,  that  was  thus  to  die.  The  Transfiguration,  there- 
fore, is  an  integral  factor  in  the  life  of  the  Lord,  and  not  a  casual 
episode.  The  Fourth  Gospel  omits  it,  but  introduces  an  equivalent 
in  John  xii.  20-36,  which  is  also  ah  interpretation.  The  Greeks 
ask  to  see  Him.  He  says  that  He  must  die  as  a  corn  of  wheat 
dies.  The  voice  from  heaven  applauds  (ver.  28,  cf.  Matt.  xvii.  5). 
He  declares  Himself  the  Light,  and  bids  His  disciples  become 
sons  of  light.  John  after  his  manner  sees  his  Lord's  transfigura- 
tion not  in  this  night-scene  on  the  mount,  but  in  a  certain  mani- 
festation of  His  inner  thought,  the  confident  triumph  of  His 
sacrifice  drawing  all  men  unto  Himself.  Peter,  on  the  other  hand, 
never  ceased  to  talk  of  the  visible  transfiguration  (2  Pet.  i.  16-18). 
For  James  the  vision  remained  as  a  power  of  ethical  transforma- 
tion ;  it  became  a  diffused  light  of  Christlike  goodness.  For 
Paul,  who  was  not  present,  and  for  all  who  share  Paul's  faith, 
Christ  remained  transfigured,  known  no  longer  after  the  flesh, 
the  emblem  of  the  eternal  light,  set  over  against  the  powers  of 
darkness  (Col.  i.  13").  It  was  perhaps  a  childish  wish  of  Peter's 
to  keep  the  heavenly  visitants  in  tents,  but  he  was  right  in 
thought,  '  Lord,  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here.'  Let  the  reader 
remain  long  enough  on  the  Transfiguration  mount,  to  be  trans- 
figured. 

1.  after  six  days,  sc.  since  He  began  to  speak  to  them  of  His 
death.  In  those  days  of  quiet  or  of  travel  (it  depends  on  the 
question  of  which  mountain  is  meant,  whether  they  rested  at 
Caesarea  or  travelled  far)  He  explained  to  them  the  scriptures 
which  anticipated  His  death,  showed  them  how  the  corn  of  wheat 
must  die  to  bear  a  harvest,  and  how  He  must  die  to  draw  all 
men  to  Him. 

Peter,  and  James,  and  John.  The  three  witnesses  of  the 
raising  of  Jairus's  daughter  (Mark  v.  37)  and  of  the  agony  in  the 
Garden  (Mark  xiv.  33).  They  saw  the  vision,  not  in  order  to  tell 
it  (see  ver.  9) — so  far  as  we  know  John  and  James  never  mentioned 
it  even  after  the  Son  of  Man  was  risen — but  that  they  might 
themselves  be  overwhelmingly  convinced  (e.  g.  John  i.  14 ; 
1  John  i.  1,  2).  They  did  not  speak  of  the  Transfiguration,  but  of 
the  Person  who  had  been  revealed  to  them  in  the  occurrence. 

a  high  mountain.  MountTabor,  according  to  tradition.   Modern 


St.  MATTHEW  XVII.  3  155 

face  did  shine  as  the  sun,  and  his  garments  be 
3  came  white  as  the  light.     And  behold,  there 
appeared  unto  them  Moses  and  Elijah  talking 


commentators  incline  to  Hermon  because  it  is  '  exceeding  high  '. 
More  probabl}'  it  was  Jebel  Jermuk  (4.000  feet),  the  highest  point 
of  Palestine  proper  ;  it  stands  over  against  the  Safed  uplands, 
separated  from  them  by  the  deep  gorge  Wady  Leimun  {Expos. 
Times,  xviii.  333).  But  as  Holtzmann  wisely  says  :  'The  mount 
of  Transfiguration  does  not  concern  geography.' 
apart,  i.  e.  privately. 

2.  The  Transfiguration,  according  to  Luke,  took  place  while  He 
prayed.  The  companions  of  St.  Francis  and  of  other  saints  have 
seen  similar  things  ;  the  face  has  shone,  and  even  the  garments 
have  seemed  luminous.  Though  commonly  the  body  effectually 
curtains  and  conceals  the  spirit,  at  times  the  spirit  shines  bril- 
liantly through.  This  effect  is  only  rare,  because  the  intense  and 
transfiguring  spiritual  experience  which  causes  it  is  rare. 

An  experience  of  James  Russell  Lowell  {Letters,  i.  75)  may 
serve  as  an  illustration  :  '  I  had  a  revelation  last  Friday  evening. 
I  was  at  Mary's,  and  happening  to  say  something  of  the  presence 
of  spirits  (of  whom  I  said  I  was  often  dimly  aware).  Mr.  Putnam 
entered  into  an  argument  with  me  on  spiritual  matters.  As 
I  was  speaking,  the  whole  system  rose  up  before  me  like  a  vague 
destiny  looming  from  the  Abyss.  I  never  before  so  clearly  felt 
the  Spirit  of  God  in  me  and  around  me.  The  whole  room  seemed 
to  me  full  of  God.  The  air  seemed  to  waver  to  and  fro  with  the 
presence  of  Something  I  knew  not  what.  I  spoke  with  the 
calmness  and  clearness  of  a  prophet.  I  cannot  tell  you  what  this 
revelation  was.  I  have  not  yet  studied  it  enough.  But  I  shall 
perfect  it  one  day,  and  then  you  shall  hear  it,  and  acknowledge 
its  grandeur.' 

his  fare  did  shine  as  the  sun.  This  is  the  Lord  of  heaven 
on  earth  (Rev.  i.  16,  x.  1).  Peter  s  memory  of  it  is  vaguer,  but 
even  more  glorious  (2  Pet.  1.  16-18). 

3.  The  three  sleepy  and  bewildered  disciples  could  ill  judge 
who  the  heavenly  visitants  were.  But  they  were  sure  of  the 
point.  They  even  knew  the  subject  of  conversation,  according  to 
Luke  ;  it  was  the  'exodus'  which  Jesus  was  soon  to  accomplish 
at  Jerusalem.  So  rooted  was  this  in  Peter's  mind,  that  to  mention 
his  own  approaching  '  exodus '  (2  Pet.  i.  15)  was  at  once  to  recall 
this  conversation  on  the  Mount  between  Moses,  who  was  grandly 
rapt  to  God,  Elijah,  who  was  borne  in  a  chariot  to  heaven,  and 
Jesus,  who  was  to  go  by  the  awful  way  of  the  Cross. 

Incidentally,  the  appearance  of  the  two  ancient  prophets  will 
teach  believing  hearts  that  the  dead  behind  the  veil  live. 


156  St.  MATTHEW  XVII.  4-9 

with  him.     And  Peter  answered,  and  said  unto  4 
Jesus,  Lord,  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here  :  if  thou 
1  Or,  wilt,  I  will  make  here  three  *  tabernacles  ;  one 

for  thee,  and  one  for  Moses,  and  one  for  Elijah. 
While  he  was  yet  speaking,  behold,  a  bright  5 
cloud  overshadowed  them  :  and  behold,  a  voice 
out  of  the  cloud,  saying,  This  is  my  beloved  Son, 
in  whom  I  am  well  pleased  ;  hear  ye  him.    And  6 
when  the  disciples  heard  it,  they  fell  on  their 
face,  and  were  sore  afraid.     And  Jesus  came  7 
and  touched  them  and  said,  Arise,  and  be  not  8 
afraid.     And  lifting  up  their  eyes,  they  saw  no 
one,  save  Jesus  only. 

And   as   they  were  coming  down  from  the  9 
mountain,  Jesus  commanded  them,  saying,  Tell 

4.  Granted,  Peter's  proposal  was  childish,  an  utterance  of 
dazed  stupidity,  such  as  comes  to  one  impetuous  to  speak  when 
he  has  nothing  to  say  ;  yet,  what  verisimilitude  is  in  the  narrative  ! 
When  in  the  Church's  history  would  a  writer  have  invented  so 
silly  a  speech  for  the  Primate  of  Apostles  ? 

5.  a  bright  cloud.  That  '  excellent  glory '  which  Peter  remem- 
bered (2  Pet.  i.  17).  The  voice  at  the  baptism  spoke  to  Jesus 
to  assure  Him  (iii.  17).  Now  it  speaks  to  the  disciples,  to 
enforce  their  attention.  Deeply  as  the  voice  impressed  Peter, 
and  convinced  him  (2  Pet.  i.  18),  it  is  striking  that  he  regarded 
the  scriptures  as  a  clearer  evidence  of  Christ  than  the  voice  from 
heaven  (verses  19-21),  apparently  because  a  voice  may  be  only  of 
'  private  interpretation ',  while  the  scriptures  are  open  to  all,  in 
all  ages. 

6.  The  fear  of  the  supernatural  is  engrained  in  human  nature. 
But  it  is  the  gracious  function  of  Jesus  to  remove  the  fear.  He 
touches  us,  we  rise,  and  are  not  afraid. 

8.  Jesus  only.  Moses  and  Elijah  have  gone  :  the  law  and  the 
prophets  are  merged  in  Jesus.  He  is  enough  without  them  ; 
and  yet  as  His  witnesses  and  forerunners  they  retain  their  place 
in  our  gratitude  and  veneration.  The  Bible  is  not  truly  trans- 
figured for  us,  until  we  lift  up  our  eyes  and  see  in  it  Jesus  only. 

9.  Jesus  did  not  wish  the  vision  to  be  used  as  evidence  to 
others,  and  for  that  reason  John  abstained  from  recording  it.  It 
is  only  the  moral  and  spiritual  elements  in  our  Lord,  never  the 
miraculous  signs,  which  carry  lasting  conviction  all  down  the 


St.  MATTHEW  XVII.  10-14  157 

the  vision  to  no  man,  until  the  Son  of  man  be 

10  risen  from  the  dead.  And  his  disciples  asked 
him,  saying,  Why  then  say  the  scribes  that  Elijah 

11  must  first  come?  And  he  answered  and  said, 
Elijah  indeed  cometh,  and  shall  restore  all  things : 

12  but  I  say  unto  you,  that  Elijah  is  come  already, 
and  they  knew  him  not,  but  did  unto  him  what- 
soever they  listed.     Even  so  shall  the  Son  of 

13  man  also  suffer  of  them.  Then  understood  the 
disciples  that  he  spake  unto  them  of  John  the 
Baptist. 

14  And  when  they  were  come  to  the  multitude, 
there  came  to  him  a  man,  kneeling  to  him,  and 

ages.  We  dwell  on  the  Vision  now,  not  to  prove  Christ  to 
unbelievers,  but  to  refresh  and  encourage  our  hearts,  because  we 
believe. 

10.  Why  then  say  the  scribes?  The  conjunction  ovv,  'then,'  is 
a  little  difficult  to  understand.  Perhaps  the  thought  is  this  : 
1  We  have  just  seen  Elijah,  and  yet  thou  forbiddest  us  to  mention 
it;  but  the  scribes  regard  Elijah  as  the  forerunner  of  Christ  on 
the  strength  of  Mai.  iv.  6  ;  if  we  said  that  we  had  seen  him,  that 
might  convince  them  who  Thou  art.'  The  force  of  the  then  is  in 
the  undercurrents  of  thought.  If  Jesus  does  not  wish  to  lay  stress 
on  Elijah's  appearing,  why  then  do  the  scribes  make  so  much 
of  it? 

ii.  The  answer  of  Jesus  is  most  perplexing  to  the  disciples, 
and  Mark  does  not  say  that  they  understood  it.  We  may  question 
whether  ver.  13  does  not  refer  to  a  discovery  made  long  after.  It 
was  a  staggering  suggestion  that  the  Elijah  foretold  by  the  prophet 
Malachi,  who  should  '  restore  all  things  '  (Mai.  iv.  5,  LXX)  was 
not  that  Elijah  who  went  up  to  heaven  in  a  chariot,  but  that 
lonely  prophet  who  was  beheaded  in  the  dungeon  of  Machaerus. 
What  a  disenchantment !  not  the  glorified  visitant  of  the  night 
vision,  but  the  beheaded  preacher  of  the  wilderness. 

12.  they  knew  him  not.  The  scribes  taught  that  Elijah's  func- 
tion was  to  lead  Israel  to  the  Great  Repentance  ;  but  they  did  not 
detect  him  in  John  the  Baptist,  whose  denunciations  of  themselves 
laid  the  axe  to  the  root  of  the  tree. 

Even  so  shall  the  Son  of  man.  Jesus  saw  in  the  treatment  of 
John  a  forecast  of  the  treatment  which  the  same  men  would 
accord  to  Him. 

14-20.    The  Demoniac  Boy.     Mark's  graphic  pen  gives  life  to 


158 


St.  MATTHEW  XVII.  15-20 


1  Gr. 

demon. 

2  Many 
authori- 
ties, some 
ancient, 
insert 
ver.  2i 
But  this 
kindgoeth 
not  out 
save  by 
prayer 
and 

fasting. 
See  Mark 
ix.  29. 


saying,  Lord,  have  mercy  on  my  son :  for  he  is  15 
epileptic,  and  sufifereth  grievously :  for  oft-times 
he  falleth  into  the  fire,  and  oft-times  into  the 
water.    And  I  brought  him  to  thy  disciples,  and  16 
they  could  not  cure  him.     And  Jesus  answered  17 
and  said,  O  faithless  and  perverse  generation, 
how  long  shall  I  be  with  you  ?  how  long  shall  I 
bear  with  you?  bring  him  hither  to  me.      And  18 
Jesus  rebuked  him ;  and  the  *  devil  went  out 
from  him  :  and  the  boy  was  cured  from  that 
hour.     Then  came  the  disciples  to  Jesus  apart,  l9 
and  said,  Why  could  not  we  cast  it  out  ?     And  20 
he  saith  unto  them,  Because  of  your  little  faith  : 
for  verily  I  say  unto  you,  If  ye  have  faith  as  a 
grain  of  mustard  seed,  ye  shall  say  unto  this 
mountain,  Remove  hence  to  yonder  place ;  and 
it  shall  remove;  and  nothing  shall  be  impossible 
unto  you.2 


this  narrative.  The  face  of  Jesus  evidently  shone,  as  Moses'  face 
had  done  (Ex.  xxxiv.  29,  30),  and  filled  the  people  with  wonder 
(Mark  ix.  15). 

15.  The  boy  was  an  epileptic,  but  the  Greek  word  means  '  he 
is  lunatic '.  Epilepsy  was  supposed  to  be  affected  by  lunar 
changes.     From  Mark  it  appears  that  there  was  paralysis  as  well. 

16.  The  three  strongest  disciples  were  absent.  Look  at  the 
undistinguished  names  of  the  other  nine,  and  you  cannot  wonder 
that  they  were  unequal  to  the  task.  And  yet  Jesus  knew  that  if 
they  had  had  faith  they  would  have  been  able  to  heal  the  boy. 

17.  It  is  a  bitter  cry  of  that  Lord,  whose  glory  had  just  been 
manifested  in  contact  with  dull  and  unresponsive  hearts.  Think 
of  faithless  Thomas  (John  xx.  27).  But  these  very  men  were 
soon  to  stand  out  as  lights  in  the  midst  of  a  crooked  and  perverse 
generation.  To-day  failure,  to-morrow  transfiguration  and 
success  (Phil.  ii.   15). 

18.  the  devil  went  out.  No  mention  had  been  made  of  a  devil. 
This  may  indicate  that  all  disease  was  spoken  of  in  this  way. 
Every  cure  was  an  exorcism. 

20.  little  faith,  A  word  only^  here,  but  the  corresponding 
adjective  is  in  vi.  30,  viii.  26,  xiv.  31,  xvi.  8.     Does  it  stand  as 


St.  MATTHEW  XVII.  22-25  159 

23  And  while  they  1  abode  in  Galilee,  Jesus  said  '  Some 
unto  them,  The  Son  of  man  shall  be  delivered  authori- 

33  up  into  the  hands  of  men  j  and  they  shall  kill  were 
him,  and  the  third  day  he  shall  be  raised  up.  gti,cm™s 
And  they  were  exceeding  sorry.  Together. 

24  And  when  they  were  come  to  Capernaum, 

they   that   received    the   2  half-shekel   came   to  2  Gr.  <n- 
Peter,  and  said,  Doth  not  your  s  master  pay  the  « or, 
25 2 half-shekel?     He  saith,  Yea.     And  when  he  ieacJ,er 

a  gentle  expression  for  '  no  faith  '  ?  For  even  a  grain  of  faith  can 
work  the  greatest  miracle.  Observe  the  answer  is  a  constant  one  on 
the  lips  of  Jesus  (cf.  xxi.  21).  It  was  a  Jewish  expression  to  call 
a  good  Rabbi  '  an  uprooter  of  mountains '  because  he  took  diffi- 
culties out  of  the  way.  Faith  can  do  more  than  all  rabbinical 
lore.  A  blind  literalism  would  make  the  saying  absurd.  It  is 
a  strong  figure  of  speech.  But  it  is  well  to  realize  how  plastic 
and  mobile  the  material  universe  is  to  Jesus.  '  Our  globe  seen  by 
God  is  a  transparent  law,  not  a  mass  of  facts,'  says  Emerson. 
Made  by  a  creative  word,  it  can  develop,  change,  or  disappear 
by  the  same  word  that  made  it. 

Verse  21  was  inserted  here  from  the  parallel  in  Mark.  In  the 
best  uncials  it  is  wanting.  At  the  same  time  we  know  from  Mark 
that  Jesus  said  this. 

22-3.  A  Second  Announcement  of  the  approaching  Death. 
Mark  makes  the  circumstances  clear.  But  the  three  synoptists  all 
record  the  striking  form  of  the  saying  :  '  The  Son  of  man  shall 
be  delivered  into  the  hands  of  men?  He  is  their  own  flesh  and 
blood  ;  they  kill  him  ;  his  death  saves  them. 

24-7.  The  Tribute  Money.  We  owe  a  great  debt  to  Matthew 
for  recording  this  incident.  He  alone  remembered  it,  perhaps 
because  his  trade  had  been  to  sit  at  the  receipt  of  custom.  But 
it  is  of  singular  beauty  and  value.  It  shows  the  divine  Lord  of 
the  Transfiguration-mount  accepting  His  lowly  place  as  a  man, 
wishing  to  conciliate  the  turbulent  and  insolent  race  among  whom 
He  sojourned.  What  Wordsworth  says  of  Milton  applies  more 
exactly  to  Milton's  Lord  : 

Pure  as  the  naked  heavens,  majestic,  free, 
So  didst  thou  travel  on  life's  common  way 
In  cheerful  godliness  ;  and  yet  thy  heart 
The  lowliest  duties  on  herself  did  lay. 
24.  the  half-shekel,  in  Greek  money  worth  two  drachmas,  about 
is.  3<£,  was  the  tax  for  sacred  uses  enjoined  by  Exod.  xxx.  13, 
xxxviii.  26,  cf.  2  Chron.  xxiv.  6,  9,  collected  in  the  month  Adar 
(March).     After  the  fall  of  the  Temple  the  Romans  claimed  this 


160  St.  MATTHEW  XVII.  26,  27 

came  into  the  house,  Jesus  spake  first  to  him, 
saying,  What  thinkest  thou,  Simon?  the  kings 
of  the  earth,  from  whom  do  they  receive  toll 
or  tribute  ?  from  their  sons,  or  from  strangers  ? 
And  when  he  said,  From  strangers,  Jesus  said  a6 
unto  him,  Therefore  the  sons  are  free.  But,  lest  27 
we  cause  them  to  stumble,  go  thou  to  the  sea, 
and  cast  a  hook,  and  take  up  the  fish  that  first 
cometh  up ;  and  when  thou  hast  opened  his 
1  Gr.  mouth,  thou  shalt  find  a  1  shekel :  that  take,  and 

give  unto  them  for  me  and  thee. 


poll-tax,  but  that  is,  of  course,  not  alluded  to  here,  though  the 
reference  to  kings  of  the  earth  in  ver.  25  sounds  as  if  it  were. 

Doth  not  your  master  pay.  The  tax  was  of  the  nature  of 
a  voluntary  assessment,  never  apparently  enforced  by  the  arm  of 
the  civil  authority.  The  question  therefore  was  almost  equivalent 
to  this  :  Is  He  a  good  Jew,  loyal  to  the  institutions  of  Moses  ? 

25.  As  Wellhausen  points  out,  the  form  of  the  answer  seems 
designed  to  meet  a  difficulty  which  occurred  in  the  early  days  of 
the  Church  in  the  Roman  Empire.  Were  Christians  to  pay 
imperial  taxes  ?  The  action  of  Jesus  forestalled  the  question. 
Ideally  they  were  free,  but  their  object  is  to  be  men  among  men, 
and  to  avoid  unnecessary  offence.  Therefore  they  should  conform 
to  the  requirements  of  the  State  to  which  they  belong. 

the  kings  of  the  earth.  In  Oriental  monarchies  a  certain 
paternal  element  is  recognized,  and  the  king  taxes  strangers  in  his 
realm  rather  than  his  own  subjects.  But  the  thought  of  Jesus 
seems  to  draw  the  distinction  between  the  subjects  and  the 
royal  house  (cf.  xxi.  12  ff.,  xxiv.  30  f.).  This  gives  point  to  the 
question  here.  Jesus  is  conscious  of  being  the  King's  Son  :  the 
Temple,  for  which  the  didrachma  was  demanded,  was  His 
Father's  house.  He  seems  to  imply  that  Peter  as  the  first 
believer  shared  His  privileges  of  sonship.  The  deduction 
therefore  was  legitimate,  that  they  were  free. 

toll  or  tribute,  ri\ij,  customs,  such  as  Matthew  collected,  and 
Krjvaos,  the  poll-tax  for  the  temple. 

27.  Incidentally  this  reveals  the  fact  that  Jesus  had  no  money  ; 
'though  he  was  rich,  yet  for  your  sakes  he  became  poor' 
(2  Cor.  viii.  9).  And  yet  in  His  Father's  world,  the  silver  and 
the  gold  were  His  ;  even  in  a  fish's  mouth. 

the  shekel,  Gk.  stater,  was  worth  four  drachmas,  about  2s.  6d,, 
and   would  serve   for  Jesus  and    Peter.     It   is  a  touching  and 


St.  MATTHEW  XVIII.  1,  2  161 

18      In  that  hour  came  the  disciples  unto  Jesus, 

saying,  Who  then  is  !  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  x^ter 
2  heaven  ?    And  he  called  to  him  a  little  child, 


beautiful  prelude  to  the  discourse  in  ch.  xviii  on  humility.  The 
Lord  of  Heaven  pays  the  tax  on  earth,  lest  he  should  cause  men 
to  stumble.  This  accommodation  to  the  present  life  is  a  great 
principle  from  which  all  our  rules  of  living,  in  town  or  state,  may 
be  deduced. 

The  evangelist  does  not  tell  us  whether  Peter  found  the  stater 
in  the  fish,  because  the  importance  of  the  narrative  lies  not  in 
that  extraordinary  incident,  but  in  the  resolution  of  our  penniless 
Lord  to  pay  the  tribute.  But  coins  are  found  in  fish.  In  the 
Academia  at  Venice  great  pictures  show  how  the  fisherman  had 
found  in  the  fish  a  signet  ring  which  had  been  dropped  from  the 
Doge's  galley.  And  the  Lord's  swift  perception,  that  a  fish  with 
the  swallowed  coin  could  be  immediately  caught,  is  not  incredible. 
It  belongs  to  a  class  of  phenomena  becoming  daily  more  familiar, 
in  which  a  clairvoyant  mind  sees  what  is  just  about  to  happen. 
No  wise  person  now  will  dispute  the  possibility  of  the  stater  being 
obtained  in  this  way ;  but  as  Matthew  did  not  lay  stress  on  it,  and 
certainly  did  not  use  it  as  an  evidence  of  our  Lord's  divine  nature, 
neither  are  we  entitled  to  do  so. 

Ch.  xviii.  The  Chapter  of  the  Church.  It  admits  us  into 
the  secret  of  that  holy  institution  to  which  Jesus  referred  in 
xvi.  18.  All  that  the  apostles  tell  us  on  this  subject  springs  out 
of  this.  Childlikeness,  brotherly  love,  and  forgiveness  are  the 
notes  of  the  Church.  When  the  reader  has  studied  this  chapter, 
let  him  read  Col.  iii.  12-15,  and  he  will  get  a  unique  impression 
of  the  unit}'  of  God's  revelation,  and  also  of  Love  as  the  founda- 
tion and  coping-stone  of  His  house.  There  are  three  sections 
in   this    charter  of  the  Church:  (1)    Be    childlike    (ver.    1-14). 

(2)  Gain     the    brother    in     the    Church     fellowship     (15-20). 

(3)  Forgive  (ver.  21-35).- 

1-14.  Be  childlike.  This  occurred  at  Capernaum,  Mark  ix.  33. 
Christ's  mind  was  full  of  the  sacrifice  ;  the  apostles'  minds  were 
full  of  pre-eminence.  Here  is  the  first  sign  of  that  hideous 
growth,  Ecclesiastical  Ambition,  and  here  Christ  condemns  it  for 
ever  beforehand. 

1.  Who  then  is  greater?  greater  among  the  disciples:  cf. 
Mark  ix.  34  ;  Luke  ix.  46.  We  are  justified  in  translating 
'greatest',  for  Hellenistic  Greek  had  lost  the  superlative,  as 
Moulton  shows  in  his  Grammar  of  N.  T.  Greek,  i.  78.  The 
illative  conjunction  connects  the  question  with  the  preceding 
incidents,  with  the  prominence  of  Peter  in  xvi.  15,  and  in 
the  story  of  the  Tribute-money,  and  perhaps  with  the  eminence 
of  the  three  who  witnessed  the  Transfiguration.     They  did  not 

M 


i62  St.  MATTHEW  XVIII.  3-6 

and  set  him  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  said, 
Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Except  ye  turn,  and  be-  3 
come  as  little  children,  ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.    Whosoever  there-  4 
fore  shall  humble  himself  as  this  little  child,  the 
1  Gr-         same  is  the  1  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

greater.  °  ° 

And  whoso  shall  receive  one  such  little  child  in  5 
my  name  receiveth  me :  but  whoso  shall  cause  6 

recognize  Peter's  primacy.  Nor  did  Jesus.  If  He  had  intended 
to  make  Peter  Pope,  the  answer  to  this  question  would  have  been 
simple  ;  as  it  was,  He  answered  the  question  by  making  a  child 
His  text.  He  nipped  Pharisaism  in  the  bud.  He  taught  Peter 
a  lesson,  which  that  warmhearted  disciple  at  least  never  forgot 
(1  Pet.  v.  1-3). 

2.  The  child  in  the  midst  is  presented  more  tenderly  in 
Mark  ix.  36  —Peter's  gospel — for  Jesus  there  takes  the  child  in 
His  arms. 

3.  Except  ye  turn.  This  is  better  than  a  theological  term  '  be 
converted  \  It  is  a  very  practical  requirement,  to  '  become  as 
little  children ',  depending  on  the  will,  and  not  on  a  supernatural 
and  uncertain  operation  of  the  Spirit.  Every  one  can  become 
like  a  little  child  (Ps.  cxxxi.  2).  How  the  thought  echoed  in 
Peter's  mind,  see  1  Pet.  ii.  2,  '  as  new-born  babes  desire  the 
sincere  milk  of  the  word.'  We  can  all  receive  the  Kingdom  of 
God  as  a  little  child  (x.  15).  The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  composed 
of  childlike  people. 

enter  into.     Rather  '  attain  to'  as  in  ver.  8  ;  xxv.  21,  23. 

4.  Insensibly  Jesus  passes  from  the  idea  of  children  literally  to 
that  of  the  childlike,  whom  He  calls,  '  these  little  ones  who 
believe  in  me.'  The  comparison  turns  on  the  virtue  of  humility. 
Children  are  not  always  humble;  but  the  childlike  are.  When 
a  fullgrown  person  takes  the  lowly  place  as  a  child  of  God, 
obedient  and  docile,  that  self-emptying  constitutes  the  only 
greatness  which  can  be  recognized  in  God's  Kingdom.  Who 
exalts  himself,  and  trusts  himself,  is  a  tiny  egoism  in  the  vast 
order  of  the  Spirit ;  who  loses  himself,  and  lets  God's  life  flow 
through  him,  is  an  integral  part  of  that  harmonious  order,  acts 
with  the  fullness  of  omnipotence,  and  shares  the  majesty  of  God. 
The  humility  must  be  genuine,  not  like  the  hoods  of  children 
adopted  by  Egyptian  monks  as  a  badge  of  humility. 

5.  The  discourse  turns  from  the  childlike  to  those  who  are 
brought  into  contact  with  them.  Thus  in  these  few  verses  the 
whole  subject  of  God  and  the  Child  is  completely  handled. 
Christ  is  with  the  little  one,  as  the  angels  are  (ver.  10). 


St.  MATTHEW  XVIII.  7-9  163 

one  of  these  little  ones  which  believe  on  me  to 
stumble,  it  is  profitable  for  him  that  *a  great  iGr.a 

millstone 

millstone  should  be  hanged  about  his  neck,  and  turned 

111  1     •        1         -i        1        e    1  by  an  ass. 

that  he  should  be  sunk  in  the  depth  of  the  sea. 

7  Woe  unto  the  world  because  of  occasions  of 
stumbling !  for  it  must  needs  be  that  the  occa- 
sions come ;  but  woe  to  that  man  through  whom 

8  the  occasion  cometh  !  And  if  thy  hand  or  thy 
foot  causeth  thee  to  stumble,  cut  it  off,  and  cast 
it  from  thee  :  it  is  good  for  thee  to  enter  into 
life  maimed  or  halt,  rather  than  having  two  hands 

9  or  two  feet  to  be  cast  into  the  eternal  fire.    And 


6.  these  little  ones  which  believe  on  me.  The  phrase  is  unique, 
but  what  a  description  of  the  true  Christian !  And  what 
a  sentence  passed  on  all  those  who  put  stumblingblocks  in  the 
way  of  Christians !  It  is  better  for  such  an  opponent  of  the 
Christian  to  be  drowned  in  the  Dead  Sea.  with  a  millstone  tied 
round  his  neck,  to  make  him  sink,  not  the  ordinary  handmill- 
stone,  but  the  ass  turned  millstone—  that  is  the  meaning  of  'great' 
here. 

7.  This  gives  a  glimpse  into  a  great  mystery.  The  world  is 
a  scene  of  trial.  There  must  be  temptations,  just  as  the 
Canaanites  were  left  in  Canaan,  to  try  the  Israelites  (Judges  iii.  1). 
But  this  b}'  no  means  exonerates  the  persons  who  serve  as  tests  to 
the  people  of  God.  The  sin  is  punished,  though  it  is  turned  to 
account  in  the  training  of  the  saints.  Balaam  o\\\y  blessed  Israel, 
but  liis  punishment  is  sure,  because  he  had  it  in  his  heart  to  curse 
him,  and  moved  the  Moabites  to  tempt  him. 

8.  See  v.  29,  30  ;  Mark  ix.  43-8.  The  hand  and  foot  and  eye 
here  are  the  instruments  of  offence  to  Christ's  little  ones.  There 
is  no  doubt  concerning  the  fate  of  those  who  cause  the  stumbling, 
it  is  aeonian  fire,  the  Gehenna  of  fire,  i.  e.  a  punishment  like  the 
burning  of  the  bodies  of  criminals  in  the  valley  of  Hinnom, 
prolonged  into  that  world  beyond  space  and  time,  called  aeonian. 
The  hand  may  strike  a  'little  one  of  Christ';  the  foot  may  lead 
him  astray  ;  the  eye  may  flash  contempt  or  ridicule  upon  him. 

enter  into  life,  prob.  'eternal  life'  :  cf.  xix.  17. 
The  notion  that  by  these  members  may  be  meant  bad  people  in 
the  Christian  communit}',  who  must  be  excommunicated,  leads  up 
well  to  the  next  section,  ver.  15,  &c,  but  could  not  be  derived 
from  those  verses  alone. 

M   2 


i64  St.  MATTHEW  XVIII.  10-13 

if  thine  eye  causeth  thee  to  stumble,  pluck  it  out, 
and  cast  it  from  thee  :  it  is  good  for  thee  to  enter 
into  life  with  one  eye,  rather  than  having  two 
i  Gr.  eyes  to  be  cast  into  the  '  hell  of  fire.     See  that  10 

of  fire!*    ye  despise  not  one  of  these  little  ones ;  for  I  say 
unto  you,  that  in  heaven  their  angels  do  always 

3  Many  '        '  ° 

authori-      behold  the  face  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven. 

ties,  some 

ancient,      How  think  ye?  if  any  man  have  a  hundred  sheep,  12 
ver.  11        and  one  of  them  be  gone  astray,  doth  he  not 

For  the        .  ,  ..  ,  . 

Son  of  leave  the  ninety  and  nine,  and  go  unto  the 
™asaveme  mountains,  and  seek  that  which  goeth  astray? 
waslolu1  And  if  so  be  that  he  find  it,  verily  I  say  unto  13 


See  Luke 
xix.  10. 


you,  he  rejoiceth  over  it  more  than  over  the 


10.  The  reason  why  the  eye  may  not  look  with  scorn  on 
a  Christian  is,  that  every  one  has  his  angel  before  God.  In  the 
book  of  Daniel  each  nation  has  its  angel :  in  the  Gospel  each 
Christian  has.  The  ancients  believed  that  every  man  has  an 
attendant  genius,  or  spirit.  In  Jewish  angelology  the  genius 
became  an  angel.  Christ  adopts  the  current  idea  to  illustrate 
the  personal  and  observant  care  which  God  has  of  each  of  His 
own.  '  To  see  the  face  of  the  Father,'  means  to  have  access  to 
the  person  of  the  Sovereign  (2  Kings  xxv.  19).  The  Christian  is 
in  high  grace,  and  has  direct  representatives  at  court.  The 
world  is  blind  and  foolish  in  treating  him  with  such  contempt. 
To  offend  the  invisible  hierarchies  and  to  provoke  the  guardian 
spirits  that  are  before  the  throne,  is  not  the  part  of  courage  but  of 
temerity.  Yet  all  who  have  persecuted  and  hindered  Christ's 
little  ones  have  incurred  this  vague  nemesis  ;  better  indeed  that 
they  had  been  drowned  in  the  sea,  that  they  had  lost  hand  or  foot 
or  eye. 

Verse  11  disappears;  it  is  imported  from  Luke  xix.  10,  but  it 
serves  as  a  good  introduction  to  ver.  12-14. 

12.  The  image  of  the  shepherd  and  the  lost  sheep  is  used  in 
Luke  xv.  4-7  to  show  Christ's  love  for  the  lost.  Here  it  illustrates 
the  Father's  love  for  His  little  ones.  No  effort  will  be  spared  to 
save  them  ;  as  no  injury  done  to  them  will  go  unavenged. 

We  should  like  to  read  the  passage  as  showing  that  Christ  will 
even  seek  and  save  those  who  have  persecuted  and  offended  His 
little  ones,  but  that  would  be  going  beyond  the  text.  If  hand  and 
foot  and  eye  mean  erring  members  of  the  Church,  the  thought  of 
ver.  15  would  be  that  such  shall  be  restored. 


St.  MATTHEW  XVIII.   14-17  165 

ninety  and  nine  which  have  not  gone  astray.  ] 

14  Even  so  it  is  not  1  the  will  of 2  your  Father  which  thing 

is  in  heaven,  that  one  of  these  little  ones  should  fore  your 

Father. 
perish.  a  Some 

1 5  And  if  thy  brother  sin  s  against  thee,  go,  shew  authori- 
him  his  fault  between  thee  and  him  alone:  if  he  JS 

16  hear  thee,  thou  hast  gained  thy  brother.     But  if  3  So.mo- 

0  J  ancient 

he  hear  thee  not,  take  with  thee  one  or  two  more,  anthori: 

ties  omit 

that  at  the  mouth  of  two  witnesses  or  three  every  against 

J    l/iee. 

1 7  word  may  be  established.     And  if  he  refuse  to  4  or, 
hear  them,  tell  it  unto  the  4  church  :  and  if  he  Sf'^a" 


14.  the  will  of  your  Father.     A  Hebrew  phrase  (1  Mace,  iii  60). 
15-20.  Gain  thy  brother  in  the  Church  fellowship.    If  the 

Lord  takes  such  pains  to  save  His  little  ones,  they  too  must  take 
pains  to  gain  one  another,  by  realizing  His  presence  in  prayer. 

Another  connexion  with  the  preceding  passage  ma}'  be— not 
only  avoid  giving  offence,  but  try  by  all  means  to  win  the  erring. 

Or  yet  another  connexion  emerges  if  the  hand,  foot,  and  eye 
are  members  of  the  Church  that  are  cut  oft' to  avoid  offence  ;  then, 
this  paragraph  shows  the  steps  which  are  to  be  taken  to  restore 
such  a  one. 

But  the  general  connexion  is  perhaps  sufficient:  instead  of 
contending  for  pre-eminence  in  the  Church,  make  it  a  society  of 
mutual  love,  forbearance,  forgiveness,  because  /  am  in  the  midst. 

Possibly  Peter  had  been  specially  assailed  by  the  jealousy  of 
the  others,  and  the  Lord  is  giving  him  directions  for  dealing  with 
the  assailants  ;  if  so,  it  is  a  very  striking  explanation  of  the  inner 
meaning  of  the  Church  to  the  Primate,  the  Rock  on  which  the 
Church  is  built.  Not  ecclesiastical  authorit}'  and  the  terror  of 
the  ke3Ts,  but  the  loving  fellowship  of  brethren,  constitutes  the 
power  of  the  Church. 

15.  sin  against  thee.  Or  more  likely  '  sin  ',  as  many  MSS.  omit 
the  other  words.  The  passage  has  in  view  not  personal  affronts 
but  all  irregularities  and  sins  in  the  Christian  community. 

The  personal  faithful  dealing  would  settle  most  quarrels,  and 
would  lead  to  deliverance  from  most  sins.  Men  are  amenable  to 
truth  and  love  combined. 

16.  The  witnesses  are  borrowed  from  the  old  Law  (Deut. 
xix.  15).  There  is  nothing  official  in  this  deputation.  Two  or 
three  combine  (see  ver.  19  and  20)  to  plead  with  the  erring  one, 
to  touch  his  conscience,  and  to  bring  him  to  repentance  by 
intercessory  prayer. 

17.  If  the  few  fail,  the  whole  community  must  be  brought  to 


166  St.  MATTHEW  XVIII.   18,   19 

1  °r'         refuse  to  hear  the  l  church  also,  let  him  be  unto 

congrega-  ' 

Hon.  tnee  as  tne  Gentile  and  the  publican.    Verily  I  18 

say  unto  you,  What  things  soever  ye  shall  bind 
on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven  :  and  what 
things  soever  ye  shall  loose  on  earth  shall  be 
loosed  in  heaven.  Again  I  say  unto  you,  that  19 
if  two  of  you  shall  agree  on  earth  as  touching 
anything  that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be  done  for 
them  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.     For  20 

bear.  The  Church  is  here  the  local  fellowship  of  believing  men. 
In  xvi.  18  it  seemed  to  be  the  larger  community.  But,  as 
Wellhausen  says,  at  the  time  the  whole  community  of  Christ's 
Church  was  in  one  local  group  of  people.  The  transition  from 
a  local  assembly  to  a  world-wide  society  is  not  explicitly  arranged 
for  by  Christ.  The  local  assembly  always  remains  and  is  the 
concrete,  working,  actuality  of  the  Church  (cf.  Herrmann's 
Communion  with  God,  p.  190,  ;a  church  which  does  not  direct 
all  its  efforts  to  developing  a  fellowship  of  moral  intercourse  is 
lifeless  and  dead'). 

Gentile  and  the  publican,  i.e.  those  who  are  outside  the  Christian 
community  (cf.  v.  46,  47).  The  term  only  becomes  opprobrious 
when  the  incomparable  glory  and  privilege  of  the  Church  fellow- 
ship are  appreciated. 

18.  The  task  entrusted  to  Peter  as  the  first  believer  in  xvi.  19 
is  here  extended  to  the  community  of  believers.  The  'binding 
and  loosing'  which  in  Judaism  was  the  function  of  the  Rabbis  is 
in  Christianity  the  responsibility  of  the  Church  fellowship. 
Nothing  is  said  here  about  forgiveness  of  sins  ;  that  power  was 
given  to  the  Church  community  after  the  resurrection  (John 
xx.  22,  23).  Not  as  apostles  but  as  disciples,  Christian  believers 
in  community  receive  these  powers.  As  the  idea  of  the  decisions 
of  the  pious  being  ratified  in  heaven  was  taken  from  current 
Rabbinical  teaching  (e.  g.  Targum,  Cant.  viii.  13,  God  says  to  the 
community  of  Israel  :  '  Let  me  hear  the  Law,  the  sound  of  thy 
words,  when  thou  sittest  to  acquit  and  to  condemn,  and  I  will 
consent  to  all  that  thou  doest '),  so  the  exaggeration  of  the  principle 
in  the  priesthood  of  the  Roman  Church  was  anticipated  by  the 
Rabbis,  e.g.  1  Taan.  67  a  :  '  the  Blessed  One,  blessed  be  he,  makes 
his  determination  invalid,  if  it  contradict  the  determination  of  a 
pious  person,'  and  6  Mo.  K.,  16 b  :  'I,  God,  rule  over  men  ;  who 
rules  over  me?  The  pious,  for  I  enact  and  he  annuls.'  This  is 
precisely  what  St.  Alfonso  claims  for  the  priest. 

19.  Two  in  agreement  are  the  Church  in  germ  ;  their  prayer  is 
heard. 


ST.  MATTHEW  XVIII.  20-25  167 

where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my 
name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them. 
2i      Then  came   Peter,  and   said  to  him,  Lord, 
how  oft  shall  my  brother  sin  against  me,  and 

22  I  forgive  him?    until  seven  times?     Jesus  saith 
unto   him,  I    say   not  unto  thee,  Until  seven 

23  times  ;  but,  Until *  seventy  times  seven.    There-  seventy 
fore  is   the  kingdom  of  heaven   likened  unto  JJ"enan 
a  certain  king,  which  would  make  a  reckoning  ^Gr. 

24  with  his  2  servants.     And  when  he  had  begun  servants. 
to  reckon,  one  was  brought  unto  him,  which  talent  was 

25  owed  him  ten   thousand  3  talents.     But  foras-  worth  y 
much    as    he    had   not  wherewith  to  pay,    his  \ 2°". 

20.  Two  or  three,  met  in  His  name,  have  Christ  among  them. 
This  is  the  secret  of  their  authority,  whether  in  declaring  truth, 
loosing  and  binding,  or  in  exercising  discipline,  forgiving  or 
retaining  sins  (see  i  Cor.  v.  4,  5)  ;  cf.  Aboth  iii.  3,  '  Two  that  sit 
together  and  are  occupied  in  the  words  of  the  Law  have  the 
Shekinah  among  them.' 

21-35.  Forgiving.  Peter,  it  seems,  was  the  aggrieved  one,  and 
wondered  how  often  he  ought  to  forgive.  He  had  been  able  to  for- 
give six  or  seven  times,  and  thought  he  had  nearly  reached  the  limit ; 
next  time  surely  he  would  be  able  to  gratify  his  indignation.  The 
answer  of  Jesus  to  his  question  struck  at  all  his  hopes  of  revenge. 

2i.  The  Rabbinical  casuistry  said  three  times.  Peter,  con- 
scious of  Christ's  spirit,  stretches  it  to  seven.  The  seventy  times 
seven  took  his  breath  away.  This  number  in  such  a  connexion  is 
practically  infinity.  Mpulton's  Grammar  of  New  Testament 
Greek,  i,  p.  98,  decides  that  the  translation  should  be  'seventy- 
seven  times '  (cf.  Gen.  iv.  24,  LXX). 

23.  This  gives  occasion  for  drawing  the  picture  which,  if  any, 
should  be  hung  in  every  church.  For  here  is  the  principle  of  the 
Church  life  as  the  organized  attempt  to  realize  the  Kingdom  of 
God  upon  earth  :  being  freely  and  fully  forgiven  by  God's  grace, 
we  must  endlessly  and  freely  forgive  one  another.  The  king  and 
his  bond-servants  represent  the  relation  between  God  and  men. 
What  have  we  which  we  have  not  received  ?  If  He  be  strict  to 
mark  iniquity  who  can  stand  ? 

make  a  reckoning :    cf.    xxv.   19,  a  Greek    phrase    found   in 
the  papyri  of  1st  and  2nd  cent.  a.d. 

24.  A  debt  of  ^2,400,000  implies  that  the  servant  was  a  Pasha 
ol  a  province,  and  had  appropriated  and  lost  the  public  money. 


halfpenny. 


168  St.  MATTHEW  XVIII.  26-32 

lord  commanded  him  to  be  sold,  and  his  wife, 
and  children,  and  all  that  he  had,  and  pay- 
i  Gr.         ment  to  be  made.     The  '  servant  therefore  fell  26 
Servant,     down  and  worshipped  him,  saying,  Lord,  have 

patience  with  me,  and  I  will  pay  thee  all.    And  27 
the  lord  of  that 1  servant,  being  moved  with  com- 
2  Gr.ioan.   passion,  released  him,  and  forgave  him  the  2debt. 

But  that  1  servant  went  out,  and  found  one  of  28 
his  fellow-servants,  which  owed  him  a  hundred 
inTtheW°rd  3  Pence  :  and  he  laid  hold  on  him,  and  took  him 
Greek        ^y  the  throat,  saying,  Pay  what  thou  owest.     So  29 
a  coin         hjs  fellow-servant  fell  down  and  besought  him, 

worth  ,  ° 

about         saying,  Have  patience  with  me,  and  I  will  pay 
pence         thee.     And  he  would  not :  but  went  and  cast  30 
him  into  prison,  till  he  should  pay  that  which 
was  due.     So  when  his  fellow-servants  saw  what  31 
was  done,  they  were  exceeding  sorry,  and  came 
and  told  unto  their  lord  all  that  was  done.    Then  32 
his  lord  called  him  unto  him,  and  saith  to  him, 
Thou  wicked  1  servant,  I  forgave  thee  all  that 


25.  Pasha,  wife,  children,  and  goods  would  not  realize  the  sum  ; 
when  all  was  paid  he  would  still  be  a  hopeless  debtor.  For  the 
selling  of  a  debtor  in  old  Israelitic  law,  cf.  2  Kings  iv.  1  ; 
Neh.  v.  8 ;  Lev.  xxv.  39. 

26.  The  appeal  for  mercy  comes  from  a  resolution  of  honesty 
to  make  amends,  and  pay  all.  The  lord's  reply  illustrates  the 
grace  of  God,  who  on  repentance  not  only  revokes  the  sentence 
of  punishment,  but  actually  forgives  the  debt,  so  that  the  pardoned 
slave  will  not  have  to  '  pay  all '. 

28.  Here  is  the  thoroughly  bad  man,  see  ver.  32,  'O  wicked 
slave  ! '  The  small  debt  of  100  denars,  about  £4,  represents  in 
proportion  to  ,£2,400,000,  the  greatest  offence  which  a  man  can 
commit  against  us,  in  comparison  with  our  delinquencies  to  God. 

29.  The  servant  uses,  to  his  fellow-servant,  the  very  words 
which  that  fellow-servant  had  used  to  their  common  lord.  But 
with  what  a  different  result !  That  piteous  appeal  of  ver.  26 
proceeded  from  a  heart  hard  as  the  nether  millstone.  He  could 
not  hear  the  very  plea  he  urged. 


St.  MATTHEW  XVIII.  33— XIX.  1  169 

33  debt,  because  thou  besoughtest  me :  shouldest 
not  thou  also  have  had  mercy  on  thy  fellow- 

34  servant,  even  as  I  had  mercy  on  thee  ?  And  his 
lord  was  wroth,  and  delivered  him  to  the  tor- 

35  mentors,  till  he  should  pay  all  that  was  due.  So 
shall  also  my  heavenly  Father  do  unto  you,  if 
ye  forgive  not  every  one  his  brother  from  your 
hearts. 

19  And  it  came  to  pass  when  Jesus  had  finished 
these  words,  he  departed  from  Galilee,  and  came 

34.  Was  not  the  wrath  justified?  The  conscience  of  mankind 
goes  with  the  sentence,  though  it  does  not  appear  how  in  the 
tormentors  hands  the  culprit  could  ever  pay  his  £2,400,000,  seeing 
he  had  not  wherewith  to  pay  before. 

Perhaps  what  the  Lord  wanted  was  not  the  money,  but  only 
the  softened,  humbled,  and  forgiving  heart ;  and  that  might  be 
gained  under  the  tormentor's  hands. 

all  that  was  due  is  the  heart  of  grace.     God  leaves  no  means 
untried  to  produce  that  which  is  due  to  Him. 

35.  It  is  not.  therefore,  inappropriate  to  say,  in  place  of  that 
outraged  lord,  'my  heavenly  father." 

It  is  a  significant  picture  of  the  forces  which  make  the  Church, 
and  of  the  God  who  presides  over  that  spiritual  assembty. 
Egotism  contending  for  supremacy  !  Chrysostom  thought  that  we 
do  not  reach  even  the  faults  of  the  apostles.  We  ask  who  is  greatest 
in  the  kingdom  of  the  world]  But  is  not  Christ's  thought  rather 
that  this  ambition  in  His  Church  is  worse  than  ambition  in  the 
world.  '  The  kings  of  the  Gentiles  exercise  lordship,  but  so  it 
shall  not  be  among  you.' 

In  the  Church  there  can  be  no  lordship  but  Christ's ;  no  rivalry 
but  love ;  no  hardness  of  heart.  The  Church  is  love,  pure, 
tender,  forgiving,  aiming  always  at  goodness,  achieving  it  only 
in  love's  ways. 

Ch.  xix.     The  Disciples  at  school  on  the  way.     Teaching 

ON  WIVES,  CHILDREN,  AND  PROPERTY. 

1,2.  he  departed  from  Galilee.  This  leaving  of  the  dear  native 
region  of  His  youth  is  passed  over  very  quietly  by  Matthew  and 
Mark  ;  but  in  Luke  it  is  announced  with  a  certain  impressive- 
ness,  and  the  journey  towards  Jerusalem  is  told  in  much  detail 
(Luke  ix.  51 — xviii.  15).  St.  John  also  gives  a  fuller  significance 
to  the  incidents  connected  with  the  change  from  Galilee  to  Judeea 
(vii.  2 — xi.  54).  We  ought  to  read  behind  this  briefer  narrative 
those  more  elaborate  records.     Apart  altogether  from  the  suffering 


iyo  St.  MATTHEW  XIX.  2-4 

into  the  borders  of  Judaea  beyond  Jordan  ;  and  2 
great  multitudes  followed  him ;  and  he  healed 

'  Many.         them  thei'e- 

authori-  And  there  came  unto  him  1  Pharisees,  tempt-  3 

ties,  some  A 

ancient       m2r  him,  and  saying,  Is  it  lawful  for  a  man  to 

inserts.         o  '  J      &'  J 

-  Some       put  away  his  wife  for  every  cause  ?     And  he  4 
autho"i-      answered  and  said,  Have  ye  not  read,  that  he 
created.      which  -made  them  from  the  beginning  made 


and  sacrifice  which  awaited  Him  at  Jerusalem,  Jesus  must  have 
felt  the  sorrow  of  leaving  scenes  so  beautiful  and  so  sacred  as 
those  in  which  His  Galilean  ministry  had  been  exercised. 

1.  borders  of  Judcea,  beyond  Jordan.  The  language  is  a  little 
confusing,  for  it  implies  that  the  borders  of  Judaea  were  beyond 
Jordan.  That  was  not  the  case.  What  is  meant  is  that  He 
made  the  journey  to  Judaea  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  and 
not  through  Samaria  ;  perhaps  the  reason  was  the  unwillingness 
of  the  Samaritans  to  receive  Him  (Luke  ix.  53). 

2.  In  Mark  we  are  told  that  on  this  journey  He  taught  as  well 
as  healed  ;  and  what  follows  in  this  and  the  next  six  chapters 
{xix — xxv)  may  be  taken  to  show  the  teaching  which  occupied 
those  da}?s. 

3-12.  Wives.  Considering  that  the  Church  has  just  been 
formed  we  cannot  help  remembering  how  intimately  the  image 
of  marriage  came  to  be  identified  with  the  relation  of  Christ  to 
the  Church  (Eph.  v).  Here  Christ  lays  down  what  is  a  new 
law  on  the  subject  of  marriage  ;  and  the  ideal  of  a  pure  and 
inviolable  marriage  is  prepared  as  the  symbol  of  the  Church's 
life. 

3.  The  question  was  rather  a  dangerous  one  in  the  territory  of 
Herod  Antipas,  which,  it  may  be  remembered,  embraced  Peraea 
beyond  Jordan.  Herod's  marriage  with  Herodias  might  provoke 
the  Pharisees  to  involve  Jesus  in  a  decision  on  the  subject  of 
marriage.  Perhaps  they  also  wished  to  embroil  Him  in  the 
discussion  which  raged  between  the  two  schools  of  Shammai 
and  Hillel.  Shammai  interpreted  Deut.  xxiv.  1  strictly,  Hillel 
more  loosely.  If  Jesus  were  committed  to  either  opinion,  He 
would  incur  the  hostility  of  the  other  side. 

4.  The  reply  of  Jesus  is  divine.  He  keeps  within  the  law, 
and  yet  He  gives  to  marriage  a  new  and  deep  meaning  which 
none  of  the  Rabbinical  schools  had  dreamed  of.  Notwithstanding 
the  familiar  passages  of  scripture  which  Jesus  referred  to,  women 
were  regarded  b}'  the  Rabbis  as  inferior  to  men,  belonging  even 
to  a  lower  order  of  being.     A  Rabbi  would  not  be  seen  speaking 


St.  MATTHEW  XIX.  5-8  171 

5  them  male  and  female,  and  said,  For  this  cause 
shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  mother,  and 
shall  cleave   to   his  wife ;  and  the  twain  shall 

6  become  one  flesh  ?  So  that  they  are  no  more 
twain,  but  one  flesh.     What  therefore  God  hath 

7  joined  together,  let  not  man  put  asunder.  They 
say  unto  him,  Why  then  did  Moses  command  to 
give  a  bill  of  divorcement,  and  to  put  her  away  ? 

8  He  saith  unto  them,  Moses  for  your  hardness  of 
heart  suffered  you  to  put  away  your  wives  :  but 


to  a  woman  ;  the  woman  was  an  object  of  contempt.  And  yet 
there  in  the  very  story  of  man's  creation  was  the  divine  charter 
of  woman's  equalit}'.  God  made  male  and  female  as  one.  In 
marriage  the  twain  become  one.  In  the  Syriac  version  a  slightly 
different  reading  brings  out  the  meaning  better  still,  implying 
that  the  same  who  made  the  man  made  the  woman.  Now  the 
Legislator  adds  a  precept  of  his  own  :  '  What  God  has  joined 
together  let  not  man  put  asunder.'  The  originality  of  this 
prohibition  of  divorce  was  recognized  by  the  Church  from  the 
first.  'Not  I,  but  the  Lord'  says  Paul,  'gives  charge  that  the 
wife  depart  not  from  her  husband'  (1  Cor.  vii.  10). 

In  Palestine  and  the  East  generally  a  man  can  divorce  his  wife 
for  every  cause.  Throughout  the  Turkish  dominions  the  wife 
can  be  dismissed  by  a  word  in  the  presence  of  witnesses,  simply 
because  the  man  no  longer  wants  her.  This  helpless  inferiority 
of  woman  is  fatal  to  all  progress.  Perhaps  no  single  precept  of 
Christ  has  done  more  to  establish  or  to  make  possible  a  higher 
civilization  than  this  which  settles  the  sanctity  of  the  marriage  tie 
on  the  original  divine  intention  of  man's  creation. 

7.  Here  was  a  case  in  which  to  recognize  'Moses'  as  final 
was  to  put  a  bar  across  the  development  of  humanity.  Deut. 
xxiv.  1-4,  which  in  its  time  was  a  restraint  on  the  unchartered 
freedom  of  the  husband,  became  a  fatal  limitation  to  the  emanci- 
pation of  woman. 

8.  This  instance  of  treating  the  Mosaic  Law  as  provisional, 
a  concession  to  the  spiritual  hardness  of  Israel,  leads  to  a  general 
principle  by  which  Christ's  higher  law  supersedes  the  old.  It 
gives  us  the  key  to  the  whole  treatment  of  the  earlier  religion. 
There  is  a  '  hardness  of  heart '  (Deut.  x.  16  ;  cf.  Sir.  xvi.  10) 
which  has  always  to  be  allowed  for  in  primitive  institutions.  The 
race  has  to  be  fed  with  milk  before  it  can  stand  strong  meat. 
Nor  must  we  assume  that  this  'hardness  of  heart'  is  altogether 
removed  now,  or  that  the  Lord  has  not  more  light  and  truth  to 


172  St.  MATTHEW  XIX.  9-12 

ancient  ^rom  tne  beginning  it  hath  not  been  so.     And  I  9 

tieshr°ead  say  unto  y°u'  Wnosoever  shall  put  away  his  wife, 

Sforlu  1  excePt  f°r  fornication,  and  shall  marry  another, 

cause  of  committeth  adultery  :  2and  he  that  marrieth  her 

jormca-  J 

Hon.  when  she  is  put  away  committeth  adultery.    The  10 

maketh 

her  an  disciples  say  unto  him,  If  the  case  of  the  man  is 

adulter-  .  . 

ess:  as  in  so  with  his  wife,  it  is  not  expedient  to  marry. 

ch.  v.  7.2. 

?  The  But  he  said  unto  them,  All  men  cannot  receive  11 

wonXTto  this  saying,  but  they  to  whom  it  is  given.     For  12 


break  forth  from  His  word.  In  a  sense,  the  principle  of  develop- 
ment is  secured  in  the  word  of  God  itself,  as  this  passage  well 
shows.  Whatever  moral  or  spiritual  limitation  there  may  be  in 
our  principles  of  conduct  or  religion,  '  from  the  beginning  it  was 
not  so.'  In  God's  high  ideal,  however  dimly  it  may  be  revealed, 
or  however  weak  our  faculties  may  be  to  perceive  it,  the  ultimate 
perfection  is  already  expressed.  And  this  lofty  teaching  of  our 
Lord,  bringing  out  an  unsuspected  meaning  from  the  familiar 
words  of  Genesis  (i.  27,  ii.  24),  is  typical  of  the  transforming 
revelation  which  runs  through  all  that  He  did  and  said. 

9.  The  single  exception  to  the  prohibition  of  divorce  is  repeated 
from  v.  32.  The  counterpart  on  the  wife's  side  is  given  in 
Mark  x.  12. 

10-12.  A  chance  remark  of  the  disciples  gives  occasion  for 
a  mysterious  injunction,  which  seems  rather  to  detract  from  the 
high  honour  just  placed  upon  marriage.  But  a  quiet  and  im- 
partial meditation  on  the  words  makes  all  clear.  The  disciples 
think  it  is  better  not  to  marry  at  all,  if  a  man  cannot  get  rid  of 
his  wife  without  sin.  Jesus  gives  no  opinion  on  this,  but  He 
takes  up  the  remark  'not  expedient  to  marry',  and  explains  that 
there  are  some  people  who  do  better  not  to  marry,  people  '  to 
whom  it  is  given  \  He  does  not  suggest  that  the  unmarried  are 
ever  better  than  the  married  ;  that  would  indeed  be  to  contradict 
ver.  4.  But  for  some,  marriage  is  not  appointed,  because  they 
are  incapable  of  it  from  birth  ;  others  are  prevented  by  the  action 
of  men  ;  and  there  are  others  who  deny  themselves  the  comfort 
and  the  joy  of  marriage  in  order  to  serve  God.  This  was  what 
He  did  Himself.  Paul  also  was  a  eunuch  in  that  sense  (1  Cor. 
vii.  7).  With  such  examples,  supported  by  Paul's  argument  in 
1  Cor.  vii,  and  by  the  statement  in  Rev.  xiv.  4,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  some  have  exalted  the  state  of  virginity  above  that  of  the 
married  relation.  But  whenever  we  are  tempted  to  do  this  on  the 
authority  of  Christ  or  of  Paul,  we  should  reread  these  verses  4-9, 
and  Paul's  commentary  on  them  ^Eph.  v  24-33).     It  will  be  seen 


St.  MATTHEW  XIX.   13-15  173 

there  are  eunuchs,  which  were  so  born  from  their  the  end 

'  Of  the 

mother's  womb  :  and  there  are  eunuchs,  which  V&T^>  are 

omitted 

were  made  eunuchs   by   men  :  and   there   are  by some 

ancient 

eunuchs,  which  made  themselves  eunuchs  for  authori- 


the  kingdom  of  heaven's  sake.     He  that  is  able 
to  receive  it,  let  him  receive  it. 

13  Then  were  there  brought  unto  him  little 
children,  that  he  should  lay  his  hands  on  them, 

14  and  pray  :  and  the  disciples  rebuked  them.  But 
Jesus  said,  Suffer  the  little  children,  and  forbid 
them  not,  to  come  unto  me  :  for  of  such  is  the 

r5  kingdom  of  heaven.  And  he  laid  his  hands  on 
them,  and  departed  thence. 


ties. 


that  the  idea  of  discrediting  marriage  in  the  name  of  Christianity 
is  the  suggestion  of  seducing  spirits,  the  doctrine  of  devils  (1  Tim. 

>v-  3)- 

13-15.  The  Children.  Remembering  the  relation  of  this  chapter 
to  the  idea  of  the  Church,  we  cannot  hesitate  to  see  that  the 
Church  is  a  Christian  nursery,  in  which  the  tendency  of  the 
disciples  to  despise  the  little  ones  is  corrected  by  Christ's  own 
loving  interest  and  welcome  of  them. 

13.  As  the  parents  are  not  mentioned  here  (see  Mark  x.  13-16  ; 
Luke  xviii.  15-17),  but  a  passive  verb  is  used,  the  impression  is 
left,  that  the  disciples  rebuked  the  children  themselves,  rather 
than  those  who  brought  them  (Mark  x.  48).  And  this  is  borne 
out  by  the  next  verse,  where  Jesus  says  '  forbid  them  not '.  We 
infer,  therefore,  that  the  children,  with  the  trustful  love  which  is 
natural  to  them,  pressed  towards  Him  and  sought  His  touch. 
Mark  x.  15  had  been  introduced  at  Matt,  xviii.  3. 

14.  Keble  saw  the  beauty  of  the  children's  trust  in  One  so 
intrinsically  great  and  perfect  : 

Then  as  each  fond  unconscious  child 
On  the  everlasting  Parent  sweetly  smiled, 

Like  infants  sporting  on  the  shore, 
That  tremble  not  at  ocean's  boundless  roar. 

of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Here  we  pass  again  from 
the  child  to  the  childlike,  the  transition  which  we  observed  in 
xviii.  1-6.  In  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  the  reign  of  God  over 
men,  everything  is  a  Fatherhood  eliciting  the  lowly,  dutiful,  and 
adoring  devotion  of  children. 

15.  We   miss    the    greater  tenderness   of  Mark's   description 


i74  St.  MATTHEW  XIX.   16-18 

Or,  And   behold,   one   came   to   him   and   said,  16 


Teacher 
2  Some 


1  -  Master,  what  good  thing  shall  I  do,  that  I 
ancient      may  have  eternal  life?    And  he  said  unto  him,  17 
ties  read     3  yyny  askest  thou  me  concerning  that  which  is 

Good  J  ° 

~asLV'\     good?     One  there  is  who  is  good:  but  if  thou 

See  Mark.     °  ° 

x-»7;         wouldest  enter  into  life,   keep  the   command- 
Luke 
xviii.  18.     ments.    He  saith  unto  him,  Which?   And  Jesus  18 

ancient       said,  Thou  shalt  not  kill,  Thou  shalt  not  commit 

(x.  16).  On  the  other  hand,  Matthew  explains  the  blessing  and 
laying  on  of  the  hands,  by  suggesting  that  He  prayed  for  them 
(ver.  13).  John  xvii  has  taught  us  what  His  prayers  for  His  little 
flock  are  like. 

16-30.  Property.  Next  to  the  question  of  wife  and  children, 
the  most  important  practical  regulation  in  the  Church  is  that  on 
property.  The  Lord's  teaching  on  this  subject,  given  in  vi.  19-34, 
is  further  enforced  by  a  characteristic  incident.  The  point  of  the 
incident  is  this  :  worldly  possessions  may  obtain  such  a  hold  over 
even  a  well-intentioned  mind,  that  wealth  will  be  a  real  hindrance 
to  living  the  life  of  filial  obedience  to  God.  In  the  case  of  this  rich 
young  ruler  (Luke  xviii.  18)  the  whole  danger  is  laid  bare.  His  great 
possessions  were  an  idol  (Covetousness,  which  is  idolatry,  Col. 
iii.  5).  The  suggestion  of  surrendering  this  idol  showed  him  his 
own  heart ;  notwithstanding  all  his  other  good  purposes  he  was 
the  servant  of  Mammon. 

The  duty  of  surrendering  and  following  Jesus  at  all  costs  is  fully 
brought  out,  on  the  one  hand,  by  the  young  ruler's  failure  to  fulfil 
the  test  (ver.  22),  and  on  the  other  hand,  b}'  the  surrender  which 
the  Twelve  had  made  (ver.  29^. 

16.  The  rendering  of  the  R.  V.  here  relieves  us  from  the  discus- 
sion of  the  question  which  arises  if  Jesus  said,  '  Why  callest  thou 
me  Good  ? '  As  the  conversation  stands,  the  question  of  the  ruler, 
'  What  good  thing  should  I  do  ? '  is  met  by  the  question  of  Jesus, 
;  Why  askest  thou  me  concerning  that  which  is  good  ? '  The  brief 
assertion  that  God  is  good  implies  that  '  no  good  in  creatures  can 
be  found'.  Earthly  possessions  are  not  really  'goods'.  Even  a 
correct  morality  does  not  3'et  deserve  the  epithet.  One  is  the 
good,  even  God. 

17.  Putting  aside,  then,  the  discussion  of  the  Good,  Jesus  says 
that  to  enter  into  life  you  must  ke_,;  the  commandments. 

18.  Which  ?  Rather  '  which  kind  of  commandments '  ?  There 
were  so  many  and  of  such  various  kinds  in  the  Law  ;  some  esti- 
mated them  at  419.  No  one,  it  was  thought,  had  ever  kept  them 
all.  Indeed,  it  was  said  that  if  any  Jew  even  for  one  day  com- 
pletely   kept   the    whole    Law,    Messias    would    come.     When, 


18;  Luke 
xviii.  19. 


St.  MATTHEW  XIX.   19-22  175 

adultery,  Thou  shalt  not  steal,  Thou  shalt  not  authori- 

19  bear  false  witness,  Honour  thy  father  and  thy  why ' 

call  est 

mother :  and,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thou  me 

20  thyself.     The  young  man   saith  unto  him,  All  §L  is 
these  things  have  I  observed  :  what  lack  I  yet  ?  S,  /S 

21  Jesus  said  unto  him,  If  thou  wouldest  be  perfect,  Marie 
go,  sell  that  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor,  and 
thou  shalt  have  treasure  in  heaven :  and  come, 

22  follow  me.  But  when  the  young  man  heard  the 
saying,  he  went  away  sorrowful :  for  he  was  one 
that  had  great  possessions. 


however,  the  ruler  found  that  Jesus  was  referring  to  the  second 
table  of  the  Decalogue,  and  the  duty  to  one's  neighbour  (Lev.  xix. 
18)  he  felt  that  he  was  on  firm  ground.  These  commandments  at 
least  he  had  kept.  If  the  young  man  was  a  malcontent  with 
Rabbinical  teaching,  we  may  suppose  him  to  have  been  greatly 
relieved  to  find  a  Teacher  who  laid  the  whole  stress  on  the  moral 
law. 

21.  Matthew  does  not  tell  us  how  Christ's  love  was  kindled  to 
this  irreproachable  young  man  (see  Mark  x.  21).  If  Jesus  loved 
him,  He  showed  His  love  by  a  stern  severity.  He  showed  it 
indeed  by  offering  him  a  counsel  of  perfection  :  '  If  thou  wouldest 
be  perfect'  The  tone  is  like  ver.  12,  as  if  there  were  an  excel- 
lence not  of  obligation  but  of  choice.  Out  of  this  has  grown  the 
Church  doctrine  of  voluntary  Poverty.  St.  Francis  married  this 
austere  wife  in  obedience  to  the  word  of  Jesus.  And  who  can 
doubt  the  virtue  of  his  obedience  ?  The  corrupted  monastic 
Orders,  with  their  vast  accumulations  of  wealth,  must  not  blind 
our  eyes  to  the  sincerity  and  virtue  of  the  early  founders.  Jesus 
certainly  implies  that  some  men,  of  aspiring  soul,  are  called  to  a 
complete  surrender  of  property,  and  to  a  vocation  of  personal 
service  to  Himself. 

22.  If  the  narrative  ended  here  we  should  conclude  that  the 
young  ruler  had  refused  the  highest,  and  }7et  by  his  obedience  to 
the  lower  laws  of  morality,  had  entered  into  life.  But  the  dis- 
course of  Jesus  which  follows  shows  us  the  inwardness  of  the 
situation.  That  sorrowful  refusal  was  indeed  the  surrender  of 
every  high  ideal ;  it  was  the  refusal  to  follow  Christ  ;  it  marked 
the  man's  failure  to  enter  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  For  him  at  any 
rate  the  rejection  of  the  best  proved  to  be  the  loss  of  the  good. 
When  we  are  confronted  with  the  highest,  and  decline  it,  we  sink 
swiftly  and  surely. 


1 76  St.  MATTHEW  XIX.  23-26 

And  Jesus  said  unto  his  disciples,  Verily  I  23 
say  unto  you,  It  is  hard  for  a  rich  man  to  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.     And  again  I  say  24 
unto  you,  It  is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through 
a  needle's  eye,  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  God.     And  when  the  disciples  25 
heard  it,  they  were  astonished  exceedingly,  say- 
ing, Who  then  can  be  saved  ?  And  Jesus  looking  26 
upon  them  said  to  them,  With  men  this  is  im- 
possible ;  but  with  God  all  things  are  possible. 

23.  The  *  verily  I  say  unto  you '  (and  so  ver.  28)  marks  a 
special  emphasis  in  the  speech  of  Jesus.  The  emphasis  is  increased 
by  the  repetition  of  ver.  24.  It  is  not  only  hard,  it  is  impossible  ; 
for  the  strong  image  of  the  camel  and  the  needle's  eye  must  be 
accepted  as  it  stands.  There  is  no  authority  for  thinking  of  a 
postern-gate  in  the  wall  of  Jerusalem  called  '  The  needle's  eye '. 
Of  course,  ver.  26  modifies  the  impossibility.  But  Jesus  states  in 
the  broadest,  strongest  way  the  antagonism  between  money,  and 
the  love  of  it,  Mammon,  to  use  His  own  word,  and  God.  We 
should  let  His  clear  and  searching  thought  have  its  full  effect  on 
us.  The  degradation  and  misery  caused,  especially  in  England 
and  in  America,  by  the  wild  pursuit  of  wealth,  more  than  justifies 
Christ's  strongest  language.  The  possession  of  property,  when 
men  are  dying  of  poverty,  is  an  obvious  breach  of  the  law  of  Love, 
which  no  casuistry  can  excuse.  As  Emerson  says  in  his  serene 
way  :  '  Of  course,  while  another  man  has  no  land,  my  title  to  mine, 
your  title  to  yours,  is  at  once  vitiated '  {Man  the  Reformer).  Let 
us  not  endeavour  to  gloze  the  teaching  of  our  Lord.  It  is  a  fact 
that  there  are  myriads  to-day  who  are  excluded  from  Heaven,  and 
the  Heavenly  kingdom,  simply  by  having  great  possessions  ;  and 
their  one  hope  would  lie  in  selling  all  that  they  have,  in  giving  to 
the  poor,  and  in  coming  to  follow  Jesus. 

26.  looking  upon  them.  The  word  implies  a  searching,  pitying 
gaze.  The  disciples  were  amazed  and  bewildered.  The  habit  of 
property  is  ingrained.  And  as  riches  is  only  a  question  of  degree, 
they  had  the  readiness  to  observe  that  a  fortune  of  £20  may  be  as 
dangerous  as  a  fortune  of  £20,000.  It  cannot  be  the  amount  of 
the  riches  that  constitutes  the  danger  ;  the  danger  must  lie  in  the 
fact  and  sense  of  possession  itself. 

Christ  here  states  the  only  remedy  for  possessions,  the  only 
way  by  which  riches,  great  or  small,  can  cease  to  bar  the  entrance 
to  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  It  is  to  let  God  in,  and  to  let  Him 
work.     If  God  has  complete  control,  and  if  He  is  recognized  as 


St    MATTHEW  XIX.  27-20  177 

27  Then  answered  Peter  and  said  unto  him,  Lo,  we 
have  left  all,  and  followed  thee ;  what  then  shall 

28  we  have?  And  Jesus  said  unto  them,  Verily  I 
say  unto  you,  that  ye  which  have  followed  me, 
in  the  regeneration  when  the  Son  of  man  shall 

.      '  Many 

sit  on  the  throne  of  his  glory,  ye  also  shall  sit  ancient 

....  .  ..  authori- 

upon  twelve  thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  tiesad.i 

29  of  Israel.     And  every  one  that  hath  left  houses,  as  in  Luke 
or  brethren,  or  sisters,  or  father,  or  mother,1  or  *soine 
children,  or  lands,  for  my  name's  sake,  shall  Sori- 
receive  "a  hundredfold,  and  shall  inherit  eternal  ^nifold. 

the  only  Good,  goods  are  no  longer  dangerous.  As  His  stewards 
vve  can  use  what  He  entrusts  to  us.  But  when  we  mistake 
stewardship  for  ownership,  and  with  the  conviction  '  What 's 
mine  's  mine ',  lose  all  conscience  in  the  possession  of  property,  as 
this  young  man  had,  it  proves  to  be  our  spiritual  ruin.  Well  may 
we  seek  to  use  this  Mammon  of  unrighteousness  to  make  to  our- 
selves friends,  that  when  we  fail  they  may  receive  us  into  eternal 
habitations. 

27.  The  Twelve  had  left  their  poor  bits  of  things,  which  to 
them  were  riches. 

28.  Their  reward  is  great.  Jesus  is  the  King  :  they  shall  be  as 
Princes  (see  Luke  xxii.  30).  This  is  an  echo  of  words  used  in 
the  Rabbinical  schools  ;  cf.  Midr.  Tanchuma  ed.  Buber.  Vay  xxxvi. 
6  :  •  What  mean  the  thrones  (Dan.  vii.  9)  ?  One  day  God  will  be 
seated,  and  the  angels  will  give  thrones  to  the  great  ones  of  Israel 
that  they  too  may  sit,  while  God  sits  among  them  as  president  of 
the  court  of  justice,  and  thus  they  judge  the  peoples  of  the 
world.'  Christ's  disciples  take  the  place  of  '  the  great  ones  of 
Israel '. 

The  Regeneration  is  used  here  in  a  new  and  special  sense. 
Josephus  (Antiq.  xi.  66"^  uses  the  word  of  the  restoration  after  the 
Exile  ;  Philo  uses  it  of  the  recovery  of  the  earth  after  the  Flood 
{Vita  Mos.  ii.  12),  and  of  restoration  after  fire  (de  Mundo  15). 
But  here  it  evidently  means  the  Messianic  days,  when  Christ's 
reign  shall  be  established. 

We  may  conjecture  that  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise  is  found  in 
the  part  which  the  Apostles  had  in  the  foundation  of  the  Church. 
But  there  maybe  a  function  of  the  Twelve  in  relation  to  Israel  yet 
to  be  revealed  (cf.  J  as.  1.  i). 

29.  This  rich  promise  is  repeatedly  proved  true  in  experience. 
The  fellowship  and  mutual  helpfulness  of  Christians  make  up  for 
all  the  sacrifices  incurred  in  accepting  and  confessing  Christ. 

N 


178  St.  MATTHEW  XIX.  30— XX.  1 

life.     But  many  shall  be  last  that  are  first ;  and  30 
first  that  are  last.     For  the  kingdom  of  heaven  20 
is  like  unto  a  man  that  is  a  householder,  which 
went  out  early  in  the  morning  to  hire  labourers 

30.  This  reversal  of  present  conditions  in  the  future  is  illustrated 
by  the  parable  which  follows  (xx.  16).  It  is  one  of  the  most 
searching  sayings  of  Jesus.  The  Dives  of  earth  will  be  the  Lazarus 
of  heaven.  The  persecuted  followers  of  Jesus  will  shine  as  the 
sun  in  the  kingdom  of  their  Father.  It  is  His  way  to  divert  our 
attention  from  present  and  material  conditions,  to  the  future,  and 
to  things  of  the  Spirit.  But  for  the  moment  the  rebuke  is  to 
His  disciples. 

Chap.  xx.  The  Training  of  the  Twelve  continues.  Their 
Lord  is  walking  consciously  to  death  (ver.  17-19,  28)  ;  they  are 
thinking  which  shall  be  greatest,  set  on  their  own  aggrandisement, 
and  quarreling  about  the  faults  in  others  which  are  manifest  in  them- 
selves. He  trains  them  b3'  a  parable  :  by  His  example  in  giving 
His  own  life  ;  b}'  His  compassionate  care  for  the  blind  men. 

1-16.  The  Parable  of  the  Hours.  This  is  only  given  by 
Matthew.  It  follows  immediately  on  the  claim  of  the  disciples  to 
special  privilege  because  of  their  special  devotion.  The  key  to  the 
meaning  is  in  xix.  27:  'We  have  left  all  and  followed  thee;  what, 
then,  shall  we  have  ? '  They  shall  have,  as  He  said,  full  recogni- 
tion ;  at  the  same  timethey  must  not  expect  exclusive  pre-eminence, 
for  in  the  Kingdom  of  God's  grace  the  last  may  be  made  equal 
to  them.  The  saying,  xix.  30,  repeated  at  xx.  16,  in  a  slightly 
different  form,  gives  as  clearly  as  possible  the  meaning  of  the 
parable.  The  disciples  could  not  have  misunderstood  it ;  they 
were  the  labourers  hired  in  the  early  morning,  and  the  stipulated 
reward  would  be  theirs  ;  but  they  must  be  prepared  for  others, 
hired  later,  to  be  made  equal  with  them  by  the  grace  of  the  Lord, 
and  they  must  take  care  that  their  eye  should  not  be  evil,  because 
His  was  good.  What  need  there  was  of  this  blunt  teaching,  is 
shown  by  the  selfish  ambition  of  James  and  John  exhibited 
soon  after.  The  Lord  could  not  cure  them  by  teaching,  but  only 
by  suffering  and  dying  for  them.  It  was  much  easier  to  open  the 
eyes  of  the  two  blind  beggars  at  Jericho  than  to  open  the  spiritual 
eyes  of  the  two  sons  of  Zebedee. 

As  the  meaning  of  the  parable  is  clear,  the  difficulties  of  the 
story,  taken  merely  as  a  story,  melt  away.  If  it  were  an  apologue  to 
show  how  we  are  to  act  in  hiring  and  paying  labourers,  it  would 
be  unjust.  Ruskin's  use  of  the  phrase,  •  Unto  this  last,'  to  expound 
his  new  political  economy,  is  only  legitimate  if  we  remember  that 
the  parable  has  no  such  intentional  teaching.  It  does  not  even 
intend  to  show  Christ's  sympathy  with  the  unemployed,  and  His 
wish    to   give    them    work.     The    first   principle  of  interpreting 


St.  MATTHEW  XX.  2-4  179 

2  into  his  vineyard.     And  when   he   had  agreed 
with  the  labourers  for  a  !  penny  a  day,  he  sent  '  Seo 

marginal 

3  them  into  his  vineyard.    And  he  went  out  about  note  on 
the  third  hour,  and  saw  others  standing  in  the  28. 

4  marketplace  idle ;  and  to  them  he  said,  Go  ye 
also  into  the  vineyard,  and  whatsoever  is  right  I 


parables  is  to  seize  the  central  truth  which  is  to  be  illustrated,  and 
to  avoid  pressing  the  incidents,  which  are  merely  the  colouring  of 
draping  of  the  tale.  Possibly  no  employer  ever  behaved  like  this 
1  householder ',  it  is  not  right  that  any  one  should.  God,  the 
great  Householder,  acts  in  a  way  which  results  from  His  being 
God  and  not  man.  His  way  of  grace  is  to  give  His  gifts  to  men 
on  a  large  principle  of  His  own,  which  will  humble  the  pride  of 
those  who  think  they  are  specially  deserving,  and  surprise  with 
unexpected  favour  those  who  think  they  deserve  little.  His  plan 
greatly  reverses  human  judgements,  putting  many  who  seemed  first 
last,  and  vice  versa.  To  bring  home  this  fact  our  Lord  constructs 
a  story,  not  such  as  happened,  but  such  as  may  suggest  the  singular 
attitude  of  God  to  us  all,  an  attitude  which  is  necessarily  different 
from  ours  to  one  another.  As  we  read  the  parable  we  may  try  to 
interpret  it  in  the  light  of  the  general  drift  which  the  context 
makes  plain. 

1.  To  conceive  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  as  a  vineyard  would 
seem  natural  to  men  who  knew  the  Old  Testament,  c.  g.  Isa.  v  ; 
Jer.  ii.  21  ;  Ps.  lxxx.  8-16.  Christ  is  the  Householder,  and  the 
vineyard  which  He  cultivates  is  the  world  ;  the  labourers  are  His 
disciples  whom  He  hires  for  the  vintage. 

a  man  that  is  a  householder.  This  idiom  is  both  Hebrew  and 
Greek  ;  cf.  xviii.  23,  xxii.  2  ;  Luke  xxiv.  19  ;  Lev.  xxi.  9  (a  man  a 
priest)  ;  Judges  vi.  8  (marg.). 

At  the  time  of  vintage  labourers  are  all  too  few  for  the  work  ; 
the  master  therefore  goes  out  early  to  get  the  men  He  wants. 
The  Twelve  were  this  first  draft  of  labourers. 

2.  a  penny  a  day.  If  we  said  a  franc  it  would  give  us  a  better 
notion  of  what  is  meant,  for  the  drachma  (or  Latin  denarius)  was 
about  the  value  of  a  franc.  But  to  understand  fully  we  should 
translate  the  word  by  the  average  labourer's  wage  at  any  given 
time.  The  drachma  of  that  time  (see  Tobit  v.  14)  would  be  the 
equivalent  of  5s.  to-day.  What  is  the  interpretation  of  the 
drachma?  It  is  the  Lord's  'Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant, 
enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord  '. 

3.  This  was  at  six  o'clock  ;  at  nine,  at  twelve,  at  three  o'clock, 
he  hired  more.  It  is  a  long  day;  the  vintage  is  great,  and  the 
labourers  are  few.  He  summons  them  age  after  age  to  the  great 
service. 

N  2 


180  St.  MATTHEW  XX.  5-13 

will  give  you.    And  they  went  their  way.    Again  5 
he  went  out  about  the  sixth  and  the  ninth  hour, 
and  did  likewise.    And  about  the  eleventh  hour  6 
he  went  out,  and  found  others  standing ;  and  he 
saith  unto  them,  Why  stand  ye  here  all  the  day 
idle  ?   They  say  unto  him,  Because  no  man  hath  7 
hired  us.     He  saith  unto  them,  Go  ye  also  into 
the  vineyard.     And  when  even  was  come,  the  8 
lord  of  the  vineyard  saith  unto  his  steward,  Call 
the  labourers,  and  pay  them  their  hire,  beginning 
from  the  last  unto  the  first.  And  when  they  came  9 
that  were  hired  about  the  eleventh  hour,  they 
1  sec         received  every  man  a  !  penny.    And  when  the  10 
"oategonal     m'st  came,  they  supposed  that  they  would  receive 
ch  xvin.     more  .  an(]  they  likewise  received  every  man  a 

1  penny.     And  when  they  received  it,  they  mur-  1 1 
mured  against  the  householder,  saying,  These  12 
last  have  spent  but  one  hour,  and  thou  hast  made 
them  equal  unto  us,  which  have  borne  the  burden 
-Or,  of  the  day  and  the  2 scorching  heat.     But  he  13 

'  ""*      answered  and  said  to  one  of  them,  Friend,  I  do 
thee  no  wrong :  didst  not  thou  agree  with  me 

6.  At  length  the  day  declines,  and  the  end  is  near.  It  is 
five  o'clock,  and  the  work  will  stop  at  six.  Christ  in  that  last 
hour  is  still  employing  His  servants,  and  promising  them  the 
great  reward. 

8.  The  evening  comes,  and  the  labourers  are  paid.  By  an 
accident  the  last  hired  are  paid  first.  Now  here  comes  the 
application  of  the  story :  will  the  Twelve,  the  first  disciples, 
come,  and  expect  something  more,  because  they  were  the  first 
called.  Shall  they  point  to  the  later  generations  of  Christ's 
servants  and  say  :  '  These  have  made  but  one  hour  ;  wilt  thou 
make  them  equal  with  us  who  toiled  from  the  beginning? ' 

No,  let  them  be  warned.  Christ  has  quite  other  thoughts. 
Let  them  not  desire  great  things  for  themselves,  and  grudge 
against  their  later  brethren.  The  Lord's  rich  payment,  being  the 
gift  of  grace,  is  the  same  for  all. 


St.  MATTHEW  XX.  14-21  181 

14  for  a  x  penny?    Take  up  that  which  is  thine,  and  '  See 

.     .  .  .  marginal 

go  thy  way ;  it  is  my  will  to  give  unto  this  last,  note  on 

,  T      .  , .  ,    .  ,       ch.xviii. 

15  even  as  unto  thee.    Is  it  not  lawful  for  me  to  do  28. 
what  I  will  with  mine  own  ?  or  is  thine  eye  evil, 

16  because  I  am  good?  So  the  last  shall  be  first, 
and  the  first  last. 

>7  And  as  Jesus  was  going  up  to  Jerusalem,  he 
took  the  twelve  disciples  apart,  and  in  the  way  he 

18  said  unto  them,  Behold,  we  go  up  to  Jerusalem  ; 
and  the  Son  of  man  shall  be  delivered  unto  the 
chief  priests  and  scribes;  and  they  shall  condemn 

19  him  to  death,  and  shall  deliver  him  unto  the 
Gentiles  to  mock,  and  to  scourge,  and  to  crucify  : 
and  the  third  day  he  shall  be  raised  up. 

20  Then  came  to  him  the  mother  of  the  sons  of 
Zebedee  with  her  sons,  worshipping  himi  and 

21  asking  a  certain  thing  of  him.  And  he  said  unto 
her,  What  wouldest  thou  ?     She  saith  unto  him, 


l5>  good,  i.e.  generous.  More  than  just  (Rom.  v.  7).  The 
Twelve,  as  we  see  in  ver.  20-8.  did  not  understand  at  the  time, 
but  perhaps  afterwards  they  did  ;  for  no  one  ever  claimed  less 
than  these  apostles.  The}' said  nothing  about  their  pre-eminence. 
The  doctrine  of  apostolic  succession  never  came  from  them  ;  they 
never  sought  to  be  princes,  or  to  lord  it  over  the  flock  of  God. 
The  subsequent  modesty  and  insignificance  of  the  Twelve  in  the 
Testament  are  the  best.commentary  on  this  parable. 

17-19.  The  disciples  thought  of  thrones  (xix.  28),  their  Lord  of 
the  Cross.  This  is  the  third  formal  announcement  of  His  death 
(see  xvi.  21,  xvii.  aa>.  It  is  more  explicit  than  the  other  two. 
The  Gentiles  are  now  to  have  a  part  in  the  murder ;  the  mocking, 
scourging  and  crucifying  are  foreseen.  But  there  is  the  reitera- 
tion of  the  rising  on  the  third  day.  Mark  is  here  more  vivid 
(x.  321. 

20-8.  The  way  to  eminence  in  Christ's  kingdom  is  the  way  He 
took  Himself,  viz.  the  Cross,  and  giving  His  life  a  ransom  for 
man}'. 

20.  The  mother  of  the  sons  of  Zebedee  was  Salome  (Mark 
xvi.  1).  She  was  evidently  travelling  up  with  the  disciples  to 
Jerusalem  (xxvii.  56). 


182 


St.  MATTHEW  XX.  22-25 

Command  that  these  my  two  sons  may  sit,  one 
on  thy  right  hand,  and  one  on  thy  left  hand,  in 
thy  kingdom.    But  Jesus  answered  and  said,  Ye  22 
know  not  what  ye  ask.    Are  ye  able  to  drink  the 
cup  that  I  am  about  to  drink  ?     They  say  unto 
him,  We  are  able.    He  saith  unto  them,  My  cup  23 
indeed  ye  shall  drink  :  but  to  sit  on  my  right 
hand,  and  on  my  left  hand,  is  not  mine  to  give, 
but  it  is  for  them  for  whom  it  hath  been  prepared 
of  my  Father.    And  when  the  ten  heard  it,  they  24 
were  moved  with  indignation  concerning  the  two 
brethren.    But  Jesus  called  them  unto  him,  and  25 


ei.  thy  kingdom-,  she  realized  then  that  He  was  King:  cf. 
xvi.  28,  with  Mark  ix.  i  ;  Luke  ix.  27.  In  Mark  x.  35  the 
ambitious  request  is  preferred  by  James  and  John  themselves. 
The  demand  of  a  mother  is  pardonable.  But  the  presumption  of 
the  men  themselves  was  not.  The  two  important  places  in  the 
coming  reign  of  Christ  were  demanded,  as  Eastern  courtiers  are 
always  intriguing  for  themselves.  The  deluded  men  imagine 
that  Christ's  kingdom  is  like  that  of  a  Caesar,  or  a  Pharaoh  or 
a  Sultan.     But  how  gentle  is  Christ's  answer ! 

22.  The  principle  of  ennoblement  in  His  kingdom  is  sacrifice. 
Can  they  drink  the  cup?  It  is  an  expression  to  describe  some- 
times blessing  (Ps.  xvi.  5,  xxiii.  5,  cxvi.  13  ;  Jer.  xvi.  7),  some- 
times ill  (Ps.  Ixxv.  8;  John  xviii.  n;  Rev.  xiv.  10).  Christ  is 
thinking  of  His  own  bitter  cup  of  suffering  (John  xviii.  11). 
Did  the  two  think  He  was  referring  to  His  cup  of  joy  ?  (Ps.  xvi.  $\ 
The  aplomb  of  their  answer  is  incredible,  if  they  knew  what  it 
meant. 

23.  They  drank  His  cup,  James  by  martyrdom  (Acts  xii.  1,  2), 
and  John,  if  tradition  is  to  be  trusted,  by  banishment  and  torture, 
and  the  long  weary  waiting  for  the  end.  But  the  place  of  honour 
at  His  right  hand  is  determined  only  by  the  Father.  Thrones 
are  for  the  fit.  For  the  idea  of  the  preparation  of  the  theocrac}' 
cf.  xxii.  4,  8,  xxv.  34.  They  are  won  by  waiting  and  toil  and 
devotion.  We  may  fancy  that  the  Father  had  prepared  it  for  one 
of  those  presumptuous  men — the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved  ; 
after  long  years  of  discipline  perhaps  the  author  of  the  Fourth 
Gospel  might  share  with  Paul  the  thrones  of  honour  in  Christ's 
kingdom.  But  if  so  Christ  would  not  anticipate,  or  pledge  Him- 
self. For  the  present  the  wholesome  word  was,  'the  last  shall 
be  first  and  the  first  last.' 


servant. 


St.  MATTHEW  XX.  26-30  183 

said,  Ye  know  that  the  rulers  of  the  Gentiles 
lord  it  over  them,  and  their  great  ones  exercise 

26  authority  over  them.  Not  so  shall  it  be  among 
you  :  but  whosoever  would  become  great  among 

27  you  shall   be  your  x  minister;  and  whosoever  'Or, 
would  be  first  among  you  shall  be  your 2  servant :  =  gIIw- 

28  even  as  the  Son  of  man  came  not  to  be  minis- 
tered unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  his  life 
a  ransom  for  many. 

29  And  as  they  went  out  from  Jericho,  a  great 

30  multitude  followed  him.   And  behold,  two  blind 


25.  lord  it.  For  the  expression  see  Gen.  i.  28  ;  Ps.  lxxii.  8  ; 
and  especially  1  Pet.  v.  3.  In  Christ's  kingdom  there  is  no  lording 
except  His  ;  no  authority  of  one  man  over  another,  but  only  Christ's 
authority  over  all.  That  is  rather  startling  in  view  of  the  history 
of  the  Church,  and  the  prelacy  and  papacy  which  some  think 
inseparable  from  it.  But  this  verse,  with  the  serene  majesty  of 
eternal  birth,  stands  as  the  touchstone  of  Church  history.  The 
Lord  knows  them  that  are  His  ;  by  the  aid  of  this  verse  we  may 
partly  know  also. 

26.  The  servant,  or  minister,  is  the  only  officer  allowed  in  the 
Church. 

28.  The  model  is  Christ  Himself,  ;  in  the  form  of  a  servant,' 
giving  His  life  a  ransom  for  many  (Phil.  ii.  8\ 

To  understand  the  '  ransom '  is  to  dive  into  the  depths  of  the 
atonement.  Go  back  to  xvii.  27.  The  half-shekel  was  a  ransom, 
paid,  as  Jesus  says  '  in  place  of  thee  and  me '  (see  Exod.  xxx.  12). 
So  in  the  spiritual,  and  infinite  sense,  Christ's  life  was  given  'in 
place  of  many'.  The  illustration  is  inadequate  ;  every  illustration 
is  inadequate.  Nothing  in  the  world  or  in  human  life  interprets 
this  unique  fact,  which  yet  these  disciples  recorded,  and  used  as 
the  means  of  saving  the  world,  that  Christ  gave  his  life,  a  ransom 
for  men.  In  vain  we  try  to  press  the  metaphor  and  determine 
to  whom  the  ransom  was  paid,  or  what  precisely  it  was.  He 
died,  He  gave  Himself,  absolutely  and  fully ;  and  in  that  self- 
giving  was  the  potency  of  saving  all  men  ;  this  is  the  fact  to  which 
He  refers  as  the  example  to  be  followed  by  the  disciples.  He 
asked  of  the  world  a  cross  to  die  on.  His  true  followers  will 
prefer  a  similar  request.  Not  to  be  exalted,  but  to  minister,  to 
suffer,  and  to  save,  is  their  object. 

29-34.  Have  the  eyes  of  James  and  John  been  opened  ?     As 

SYMBOL  OF  THE  FACT  THAT  THEY  WILL  BE.  THE  TWO   BLIND   BEGGARS 


1 84  St.  MATTHEW  XX.  31— XXI.  1 

men  sitting  by  the  way  side,  when  they  heard 
that  Jesus  was  passing  by,  cried  out,  saying, 
Lord,  have  mercy  on  us,  thou  son  of  David. 
And   the   multitude  rebuked   them,   that   they  31 
should  hold  their  peace  :  but  they  cried  out  the 
more,  saying,  Lord,  have  mercy  on  us,  thou  son 
of  David.     And  Jesus  stood  still,  and  called  32 
them,  and  said,  What  will  ye  that  I  should  do 
unto  you  ?    They  say  unto  him,  Lord,  that  our  33 
eyes  may  be  opened.     And  Jesus,  being  moved  34 
with  compassion, touched  their  eyes:  and  straight- 
way they  received  their  sight,  and  followed  him. 

And  when  they  drew  nigh  unto  Jerusalem,  21 
and  came  unto  Bethphage,  unto  the  mount  of 

of  Jericho  are  healed.  In  ix.  27  already  two  blind  men  have 
been  cured.  Mark  and  Luke  mention  only  one  here.  Well- 
hausen  thinks  that  Matthew  has  put  together  one  healed  at 
Bethsaida  and  one  healed  at  Jericho.  But  the  duplication  is  not 
so  artful.  Thinking  of  the  two  blind  brothers  James  and  John, 
the  evangelist  has  unconsciously  represented  the  blind  Bartimseus 
of  Mark  as  two. 

30.  thou  son  of  David,  that  is,  Messias  (ix.  27,  xii.  23,  xv.  22, 
xxi.  9,  15).  There  were  evidently  many  who  began  to  think  of 
Him  as  Messias. 

ivas  passing  by.  There  is  a  favourable  moment  when  He 
comes  within  reach  of  the  needy  soul.  Seize  that  moment.  Cry 
out  to  Him  again  and  again.  Let  not  the  officious  crowd  silence 
you.     He  has  compassion. 

34.  The  moving  of  Christ's  compassionate  heart  (ix.  36,  xiv.  14, 
xv.  32)  is  the  great  hope  of  men.  If  Christ  has  for  us  the  value 
of  God,  and  God  pities  in  the  same  way,  there  is  hope  for  all. 
Even  the  blind  may  receive  their  sight  and  follow  Him. 

Ch.  xxi.  The  Rebel  City.  The  King  approaches  His  city — or 
His  vineyard — to  be  rejected  and  slain  by  His  own.  This  theme 
is  worked  out  in  ;  (1)  The  entrance  on  the  ass's  foal,  in  accordance 
with  prophecy  (1-11).  (2)  The  symbolical  cleansing  of  the 
Temple,  with  the  indignant  protests  of  the  chief  priests  and 
elders  (12-32)  ;  in  the  middle  of  this  episode  is  inserted  the 
withering  of  the  fig-tree,  which  is  a  sign  (18-22).  (3)  The 
parable  which  shows  how  the  rebel  husbandmen  receive  their 
Lord    '33-46).     Almost  ever}'  verse  of  the  chapter  deepens  the 


St.  MATTHEW  XXI.  2-5  185 

Olives,  then  Jesus  sent  two  disciples,  saying  unto 

2  them,  Go  into  the  village  that  is  over  against 
you,  and  straightway  ye  shall  find  an  ass  tied, 
and  a  colt  with  her :  loose  the?n,  and  bring  them 

3  unto  me.  And  if  any  one  say  aught  unto  you, 
ye  shall  say,  The  Lord  hath  need  of  them  ;  and 

4  straightway  he  will  send  them.  Now  this  is  come 
to  pass,  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was 
spoken  l by  the  prophet,  saying,  'Or, 

5  Tell  ye  the  daughter  of  Zion, 
Behold,  thy  King  cometh  unto  thee, 


impression  of  the  tragedy,  that  He  should  come  unto  His  own. 
and  His  own  should  receive  Him  not. 

i-n.  The  Entrance  into  the  City.  It  was  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  the  tenth  of  Nisan,  the  day  on  which  the  lamb  was  set 
apart  for  the  sacrifice  on  the  fourteenth.  But  the  thought  of 
Jesus  was  not  on  the  sacrificial  side  so  much  as  on  the  prophetic 
coming  of  the  King  to  claim  His  own.  It  was  Zech.  ix.  9  that 
was  in  His  mind  as  the  keynote  of  His  entry  into  Jerusalem ; 
and  Malachi  iii  with  its  cleansing  of  Temple  and  Levite,  rather 
than  the  regulations  of  Leviticus  and  the  slaying  of  the  lamb. 
This  latter  thought  is  hinted  at  in  ver.  38,  39,  but  it  only  acquires 
predominance  later  in  the  week.  For  the  moment  Jerusalem  is 
to  be  told  :   '  Behold  thy  King  cometh  unto  thee.' 

1.  Bethphage.  The  house  of  Figs,  as  Bethany  ^ver.  17)  is  the 
house  of  Dates.  The  latter  still  is,  the  former  is  not,  discoverable, 
but  it  must  have  been  on  the  east  of  the  Mount  of  Olives,  about 
where  the  Inn  of  the  Twelve  Apostles  stands  to-day. 

2.  In  this  unknown  village  stood  the  ass  with  the  colt,  that 
should  serve  to  fulfil  the  prophecy  of  Zech.  ix.  The  other 
evangelists  only  mention  the  foal  ;  Matthew's  eyes,  as  usual,  were 

t  more  upon  the  prophet's  words  than  on  the  details  of  fact. 

3.  The  Lord's  exact  knowledge  of  what  would  happen  is  to  be 
noted  as  an  illustration  of  the  clairvoyant  condition  of  His  mind 
at  this  momentous  crisis  of  approaching  fate. 

The  Lord.    This#title  then  was  accepted  in  the  apostolic  circle  ; 
cf.  xxiv.  42.     In  xxvi.  18  it  is  Teacher. 

4.  The  prophecy  was  very  wonderful.  Israel's  king  was  to 
come  not  on  a  war-horse,  as  a  conqueror,  but  in  the  simple  guise 
of  a  rustic.  In  the  da}'s  of  the  Judges  asses  were  ridden  by  kings' 
sons;  but  in  the  later  growth  of  luxury  the  great  rode  only  on 
horses. 


i86  St.  MATTHEW  XXI.  6-9 

Meek,  and  riding  upon  an  ass, 
And  upon  a  colt  the  foal  of  an  ass. 
And  the  disciples  went,  and  did  even  as  Jesus  6 
appointed  them,  and  brought  the  ass,  and  the  7 
colt,  and  put  on  them  their  garments ;  and  he 
sat  thereon.    And  the  most  part  of  the  multitude  8 
spread  their  garments  in  the  way ;  and  others 
cut  branches  from  the  trees,  and  spread  them  in 
the  way.     And  the  multitudes  that  went  before  9 
him^  and  that  followed,  cried,  saying,  Hosanna 
to  the  son  of  David  :  Blessed  is  he  that  cometh 


5.  meek.  It  was  easy  to  get  the  ass  to  ride  on,  but  the  harder 
part  of  the  prophecy  was  to  get  a  ruler  who  was  meek.  This 
Jesus  was  (xi.  29). 

7.  There  was  no  saddle ;  the  garments  of  the  disciples  served 
instead. 

thereon.  In  the  Greek  it  looks  as  if  He  rode  both  ass  and 
foal  ;  but  perhaps  the  plural  (happity  evaded  by  the  English 
1  thereon  ')  refers  to  the  garments.  Matthew  does  not  mention  the 
point  which  to  Mark  and  Luke  is  significant,  that  the  ass  was  one 
on  which  no  one  had  ever  ridden  before. 

8.  The  multitude,  most  of  whom  spread  their  garments  before 
the  humble  beast  (the  homage  paid  to  a  king,  2  Kings  ix.  13,  in 
the  crowning  of  Jehu),  others  of  whom  cut  the  tree  branches  for 
a  like  demonstration,  was  evidently  the  pilgrim  company  from 
Galilee,  and  not  the  people  of  Jerusalem.  For  the  credit  of  our 
common  humanity,  we  trust  it  was  not  the  same  crowd  that  on 
the  10th  cried  '  Hosanna',  and  on  the  14th  '  Crucify  Him  '. 

9.  Hosanna.  In  Hebrew  '  Save  now '  (see  Ps.  cxviii.  25,  26). 
They  are  singing  part  of  the  great  Hallel,  the  Passover-song  ;  but 
they  give  to  Jesus  the  Messianic  title,  '  Son  of  David,'  or  perhaps 
it  would  be  safer  to  say,  in  view  of  Mark  xi.  9  and  Luke  xix.  37, 
that  the  clause  '  to  the  Son  of  David  '  is  Matthew's  own  comment, 
telling  us  that  the  Psalm  originally  addressed  to  the  Lord,  was 
n<tw  directed  to  His  Messias.  The  evangelist  cites  the  cry 
Hosanna,  witnout  thinking  of  its  meaning  in  Hebrew,  as  a  mere 
cry  of  greeting,  '  Hail,'  and  follows  it  with  the  dative.  So  it  is  in 
The  Teaching  of  the  Twelve,  x.  6,  'hosannah  to  the  God  of  David.' 
From  this  Dalman  concludes  precariously  that  the  author  of  the 
Gospel  was  not  a  Hebraist,  and,  therefore,  not  the  apostle  {Words 
of  Jesus,  p.  221).  But  even  English  and  German  writers  often 
use  words  in  forgetfulness  of  their  original  meaning. 


St.  MATTHEW  XXI.  10-12  187 

in  the  name  of  the  Lord ;  Hosanna  in  the  high- 

10  est.    And  when  he  was  come  into  Jerusalem,  all 

11  the  city  was  stirred,  saying,  Who  is  this?  And 
the  multitudes  said,  This  is  the  prophet,  Jesus, 
from  Nazareth  of  Galilee. 

12  And  Jesus  entered  into  the  temple  x  of  God,  'Many 
and  cast  out  all  them  that  sold  and  bought  in  authorities 
the  temple,  and  overthrew  the  tables   of  the  °God°' 
money-changers,  and  the  seats  of  them  that  sold 


Hosanna  in  the  highest.  So  Mark  also,  but  in  Luke,  '  in 
heaven  peace  and  glory  in  the  highest.'  The  highest  means 
heaven.  As  Bengel  quaintly  says,  the  angels  at  His  birth  sang 
'  peace  on  earth  ',  the  people  at  His  death  sing  '  peace  in  heaven  '. 
But  we  must  not  press  too  closely  these  shouts  of  the  multitude. 

Entering,  it  is  thought,  by  that  gate  in  the  Eastern  wall,  which 
is  now  shut,  and  only  to  be  reopened  when  Jerusalem's  final  con- 
queror comes,  Jesus  stirs  the  whole  city.  The  people  rush  out  to 
see,  and  to  ask  who  is  coming;  and  the  Pilgrims  answer.  It  is 
Jesus  the  prophet. 

the  city  was  stirred.  The  verb  is  the  one  used  of  the  move- 
ment of  an  earthquake.  It  marks  the  shock  of  doom  in  His 
coming.  For  this  impression,  cf.  the  strong  words  in  John 
xii.  6-19. 

12-32.  He  cleanses  the  Temple.  In  the  Fourth  Gospel  this 
cleansing  is  put  at  the  beginning  of  the  ministry  before  Jesus  went 
to  Galilee  (ii.  13-17).  The  Synoptics  place  it  at  the  first  coming  to 
Jerusalem  which  they  record.  The  exact  time  is  of  less  import- 
ance than  the  spiritual  significance.  It  is  the  fulfilment  of  the 
prophetic  announcement  of  Mai.  iii.  The  mind  of  Jesus  was 
seething  with  the  words  of  the  prophets,  as  ver.  13  shows.  The 
entry  shows  His  conscious  mastery  of  Temple  and  cultus. 

12.  There  was  a  constant  market  in  or  near  the  Temple,  in  rows 
of  Tabernae  (shops\  where  the  animals  for  the  sacrifices  were 
sold,  and  change  was  given  for  the  requisite  Temple  tribute 
(Exod.  xxx.  13  ;  Lev.  i.  14,  v.  7,  xii.  8  ;  Deut.  xiv.  24-6).  The 
zeal  of  Jesus  was  kindled  by  the  intrusion  of  this  traffic  into  the 
sacred  precincts  of  the  Temple  itself.  It  was  a  S3-mbol  to  Him  of 
the  ambition  and  greed  of  the  chief  priests  and  elders,  who  under 
the  plea  of  Divine  service,  were  seeking  their  own  aggrandize- 
ment. And  this  in  spite  of  the  professed  reverence  for  the  Temple. 
'  What  is  the  reverence  due  to  the  Temple  ? '  asked  the  rabbis. 
And  the  answer  was,  '  That  none  go  through  the  court  of  it  with 
his  staff  and  shoes  and  purse,  and  dust  upon  his  feet,  and  that 


188  St.  MATTHEW  XXI.  13-18 

the  doves  ;  and  he  saith  unto  them,  It  is  written,  13 
My  house  shall  be  called  a  house  of  prayer  :  but 
ye  make  it  a  den  of  robbers.     And  the  blind  14 
and  the  lame  came  to  him  in  the  temple :  and 
he  healed  them.    But  when  the  chief  priests  and  15 
the  scribes  saw  the  wonderful  things  that  he  did, 
and  the  children  that  were  crying  in  the  temple 
and  saying,  Hosanna  to  the  son  of  David ;  they 
were  moved  with  indignation,  and  said  unto  him,  16 
Hearest  thou  what  these  are  saying  ?   And  Jesus 
saith  unto  them,  Yea  :  did  ye  never  read,  Out  of 
the  mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings  thou  hast  per- 
fected praise  ?  And  he  left  them,  and  went  forth  17 
out  of  the  city  to  Bethany,  and  lodged  there. 
Now  in  the  morning  as  he  returned  to  the  18 


none  make  it  a  common  thoroughfare,  or  let  any  of  his  spittle  fall 
upon  it.' 

13.  The  prophetic  words  are  from  Isa.  lvi.  7  (LXX)  and  Jerem. 
vii.  11.  It  is  noteworthy  that  the  Pharisees  did  not  dispute  the 
cleansing,  however  indignant  it  made  them  ;  but  took  exception  to 
the  healing  and  to  the  cry  of  the  children  !  From  Mark  xi.  17 
it  seems  that  the  multitude  were  deeply  impressed  by  the  lofty 
doctrine  which  cleansed  the  Temple. 

14.  This  healing  is  mentioned  only  by  Matthew.    Cf.  xiv.  14,  xix.  2. 

15.  the  children.  In  Luke  xix.  39  the  children  are  the  disciples. 
Jesus  certainly  called  His  disciples  'children',  and  it  is  more 
natural  to  suppose  that  this  praise  came  from  disciples  than  from 
children  ;  but  the  exquisite  answer  of  Jesus  from  Ps.  viii.  2  allows 
us  to  believe  that  the  very  children  recognized  their  King. 

From  the  lips  of  the  children,  then,  Jesus  accepts  the  title  of 
Messias.  They  at  least  will  not  misunderstand  and  read  into  it  a 
worldly  meaning. 

16.  perfected  praise.  This  is  the  Greek  of  the  LXX.  Ps.  viii.  3. 
In  the  Hebrew  it  is  'established  strength".  This  indiscriminate 
use  in  the  New  Testament  of  the  Hebrew  or  the  different  Greek 
version,  as  may  be  most  suitable,  is  a  warning  against  the  crude 
theory  of  verbal  inspiration. 

17.  lodged  there,  i.e.  bivouacked  in  the  open.  The  same  word 
in  Luke  xxi.  37.  Hence  the  hunger  in  the  morning,  which  would 
have  heen  avoided  in  the  house. 


St.  MATTHEW  XXI.  19-23  189 

19  city,  he  hungered.    And  seeing  '  a  lig  tree  by  2  Or, 

°  .  a  single 

the  way  side,  he  came  to  it,  and  found  nothing 
thereon,  but  leaves  only  ;  and  he  saith  unto  it, 
Let  there  be  no  fruit  from  thee  henceforward  for 
ever.     And   immediately  the  fig  tree  withered 

20  away.  And  when  the  disciples  saw  it,  they  mar- 
velled, saying,  How  did  the  fig  tree  immediately 

2 1  wither  away  ?  And  Jesus  answered  and  said 
unto  them,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  If  ye  have 
faith,  and  doubt  not,  ye  shall  not  only  do  what  is 
done  to  the  fig  tree,  but  even  if  ye  shall  say  unto 
this  mountain,  Be  thou  taken  up  and  cast  into  the 

22  sea,  it  shall  be  done.  And  all  things,  whatsoever 
ye  shall  ask  in  prayer,  believing,  ye  shall  receive. 

23  And  when  he  was  come  into  the  temple,  the 

18.  The  Barren  Fig-tree  is  a  symbol  of  Jerusalem.  He 
came  expecting  fruit  and  found  none.  The  doom  of  Jerusalem, 
therefore,  was,  to  be  fruitless  forever.  Some  think  that  this  parable 
has  been  inadvertently  transformed  into  an  actual  occurrence. 
But  it  is  more  likely  that  the  Lord  pointed  the  moral  of  a  striking 
event  which  actually  occurred.  Matthew  represents  the  tree  as 
withering  immediately.  But  in  Mark  (xi.  21)  we  see  that  the 
withering  took  place  gradually  during  the  day  and  night.  He  did 
not  'curse  it',  as  Peter  says.  He  said,  'Let  there  be  no  fruit 
from  thee  for  ever,'  and  there  was  none.  Lie  made  a  tree  fruit- 
less, to  bring  home  to  His  disciples  the  doom  of  Jerusalem. 

In  the  fruitful  vale  of  Capernaum  the  figs  bore  fruit  ten  months 
out  of  the  twelve.  Theleaves  of  the  fig  come  out  after  the  fruit. 
The  expectation  of  fruit,  therefore,  was  natural,  though,  as  the 
reviser  of  Mark  says,  '  the  time  of  figs  was  not  3'et '  (xi.  13). 

Nature  is  all  a  parable,  and  Jesus  was  always  conscious  of  this 
co-operation  of  the  natural  world  with  His  spiritual  purpose. 

20.  The  striking  event  gives  occasion  for  a  reiteration  of  the 
vast  power  of  faith  and  prayer  (see  xvii.  21).  No  Eastern  hearer 
would  make  the  mistake  of  supposing  the  words  about  the  moun- 
tain to  be  literal.  It  is  a  hyperbolic  expression  to  describe  '  a 
mountain  of  difficulty ',  an  apparent  impossibility.  The  warning 
is  needed  for  the  literal  and  unimaginative  Western  mind. 

22.  The  different  form  of  this  saying  in  Mark  (xi.  24)  brings  out 
more  fully  the  part  of  believing  in  the  answer  to  prayer  (John 
xvi.  23). 


i9o  St.  MATTHEW  XXI.  24-28 

chief  priests  and  the  elders  of  the  people  came 
unto  him  as  he  was  teaching,  and  said,  By  what 
authority  doest  thou  these  things  ?  and  who  gave 
thee  this  authority?     And  Jesus  answered  and  24 

LSrf         sa'^  unt0  tnem5 1  a^so  wiM  ask  you  one  !  question, 
which  if  ye  tell  me,  I  likewise  will  tell  you  by 
what  authority  I  do  these  things.     The  baptism  25 
of  John,  whence  was  it  ?  from  heaven  or  from 
men  ?    And  they  reasoned  with  themselves,  say- 
ing, If  we  shall  say,  From  heaven ;  he  will  say 
unto  us,  Why  then  did  ye  not  believe  him  ?  But  26 
if  we  shall  say,  From  men ;  we  fear  the  multi- 
tude ;  for  all  hold  John  as  a  prophet.   And  they  21 
answered  Jesus,  and  said,  We  know  not.     He 
also  said  unto  them,  Neither  tell  I  you  by  what 
authority  I  do  these  things.    But  what  think  ye?  28 
A  man  had  two  sons ;  and  he  came  to  the  first, 

23.  these  things.  Hardly  the  withering  of  the  fig-tree,  but 
the  teaching  and  healing  in  the  Temple  (Mark  i.  22-27).  There  is 
no  explicit  reference  to  the  cleansing  of  the  Temple,  though  that 
was  the  chief  irritant. 

When  He  asked  them  about  the  baptism  of  John,  He  hoped 
that  they  would  acknowledge  that  prophet,  and  then  He  would 
show  how  His  own  authority  was  connected  with  John.  But 
when  He  saw  the  dishonesty  and  cowardice  which  made  them 
silent  about  John,  He  declined  to  defend  His  claim  to  minds  so 
feeble  and  vicious.  And  this  shows  the  connexion  with  the  suc- 
ceeding parable.  The  two  sons  are  the  chief  priests  and  the 
elders  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  common  people  on  the  other.  He 
shows  by  the  effect  of  John's  preaching  on  the  two  classes,  how 
the  publicans  and  harlots  did  the  will  of  the  Father  better  than 
the  religious  leaders  ;  He  even  (as  it  seems)  compels  their  assent 
to  this  judgement. 

25.  from  heaven  (i.  e.  God;  or  from  men.  Cf.  John  iii.  7,  27,  31, 
xix.  11,  and  Jas.  i.  17,  iii.  15. 

28-32.  The  Parable  of  the  Two  Sons.  Only  in  Matthew. 
Usually  in  Matthew  God  is  Master  and  the  men  are  servants. 
Here  the  Master  is  Father,  as  in  Luke's  parables. 

This  is  the  first  of  three  parables  showing  the  doom  which 
impends  over  the  Jewish  nation  (xxi.  28-xxii.  14). 


St.  MATTHEW  XXI.  29-33  191 

and  said,  'Son,  go  work  to-day  in  the  vineyard.  '  Gr. 
.'y  And  he  answered  and  said,  I  will  not :  but  after- 

30  ward  he  repented  himself,  and  went.  And  he 
came  to  the  second,  and  said  likewise.  And 
he  answered  and  said,  I  go,  sir :  and  went  not. 

31  Whether  of  the  twain  did  the  will  of  his  father? 
They  say,  The  first.  Jesus  saith  unto  them, 
Verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  the  publicans  and 
the  harlots  go  into  the  kingdom  of  God  before 

32  you.  For  John  came  unto  you  in  the  way  of 
righteousness,  and  ye  believed  him  not :  but  the 
publicans  and  the  harlots  believed  him  :  and  ye, 
when  ye  saw  it,  did  not  even  repent  yourselves 
afterward,  that  ye  might  believe  him. 

33  Hear  another  parable :  There  was  a  man  that 
was  a  householder,  which  planted  a  vineyard, 
and  set  a  hedge  about  it,  and  digged  a  winepress 

31.  Strangely  enough  some  MSS.  make  the  answer  '  the  last ', 
and  imply  that  the  chief  priests  and  elders,  perceiving  that  the 
parable  was  spoken  against  them,  ironically  declared  that  the 
son  who  said  he  would  go  and  did  not  was  the  better  !  But  it 
is  more  probable  that  a  slight  confusion  has  occurred  in  the 
order  ;  and  the  admission  was  made  (for  was  it  not  a  truism  ?) 
that  the  son  who  refused  in  word,  and  yet  did  the  command- 
ment, did  the  will  of  his  father. 

The  publicans  (or  Roman  tax-collectors  like  Zaccheeus; 
and  the  harlots  (like  the  woman  who  was  a  sinner  in  Luke  vii. 
37-50)  represented  to  the  Jew  of  the  time  the  worst  and  most 
abandoned  of  the  population.  Yet,  while  these  repented  at  the 
preaching  of  John,  the  chief  priests  and  elders  were  so  little 
impressed,  that  to  the  question  as  to  the  source  of  John's  baptism, 
they  could  only  answer,  'we  know  not.' 

33-46.  Then  comes  the  great  parable  which  lays  bare  the 
whole  age-long  iniquity  of  rebellious  israel,  asserts  un- 
equivocally  the  dlvinity  of  jesus,  and  declares  the  doom  of 
the  nation  which  rejects  its  klng  and  messias. 

33.  The  vineyard  is  Israel,  as  in  Isa.  v.  1-7,  where  these  details 
of  the  vine-culture  are  given.  Six  years  was  the  time  for  a 
newly-planted  vineyard  to  rest  before  the  grapes  were  allowed  to 
ripen. 


i92  St.  MATTHEW  XXI.  34-41 

in  it,  and  built  a  tower,  and  let  it  out  to  husband- 
men, and  went  into  another  country.    And  when  34 
1  Gr.  bond-  the  season  of  the  fruits  drew  near,  he  sent  his 
servants.    1  servants  to  the  husbandmen,  to  receive  2  his 

-  Or,  the  ' 

fruits        fruits.    And  the  husbandmen  took  his  1  servants,  35 

oj  tt 

and  beat  one,  and  killed  another,  and  stoned 
another.     Again,  he  sent  other  l  servants  more  36 
than  the  first :  and  they  did  unto  them  in  like 
manner.     But  afterward  he  sent  unto  them  his  37 
son,  saying,  They  will  reverence  my  son.     But  38 
the  husbandmen,  when  they  saw  the  son,  said 
among  themselves,  This  is  the  heir ;  come,  let 
us  kill  him,  and  take  his  inheritance.-  And  they  39 
took  him,  and  cast  him  forth  out  of  the  vineyard, 
and  killed  him.    When  therefore  the  lord  of  the  4° 
vineyard  shall  come,  what  will  he  do  unto  those 
husbandmen?     They   say   unto   him,   He   will  4 l 
miserably  destroy  those  miserable  men,  and  will 
let  out  the  vineyard  unto  other  husbandmen, 


35.  The  servants  arc  the  prophets.  Luke  does  not  refer  to  the 
killing  of  the  prophets.  But  2  Chron.  xxiv.  21  mentions  the 
stoning  of  one,  Zechariah. 

37.  his  son.  Jesus  could  not  by  any  image  make  it  plainer  that 
the  difference  between  Himself  and  even  the  greatest  of  the 
prophets  is  expressed  by  the  difference  between  a  son  and  a 
servant.  It  is  a  singular  blindness  which  refuses  to  recognize  in 
this  Christ's  claim  to  divinity.  In  Mark  (xii.  6),  probably  the 
original  of  the  saying,  the  claim  is  still  more  explicit,  and 
corresponds  with  John  iii.  16. 

39.  out  of  the  vineyard.     Golgotha,  just  outside  the  city  walls. 
and  killed  him.      They   wished    instead    of  servants   to    be 
lords  :  the  root  of  all  sin  is  rebellion  ;  the  ego  usurps  the  place  of 
God. 

41.  In  Matthew  this  judgement  is  extracted  from  the  lips  of 
the  guilty  parties.  But  in  Mark  (xii.  9)  and  Luke  (xx.  16),  Jesus 
gives  the  verdict  Himself.  The  saying  kcikovs  kclkcvs  airoXion  is 
quite  in  the  spirit  of  the  classic  drama.  It  is  well  rendered 
in  R.V. 


St.  MATTHEW  XXI.  42-XXII.  2  193 

which  shall  render  him  the  fruits  in  their  seasons. 

42  Jesus  saith  unto  them,  Did  ye  never  read  in  the 
scriptures, 

The  stone  which  the  builders  rejected, 
The  same  was  made  the  head  of  the  corner : 
This  was  from  the  Lord, 
And  it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes  ? 

43  Therefore  say  I  unto  you,  The  kingdom  of  God 
shall  be  taken  away  from  you,  and  shall  be  given 
to  a  nation   bringing   forth   the  fruits  thereof. 

44  '  And  he  that  falleth  on  this  stone  shall  be  broken  Ancient 
to  pieces  :  but  on  whomsoever  it  shall  fall,  it  will  f.uthori: 

r  '  ties  omit 

45  scatter  him  as  dust.    And  when  the  chief  priests  ver-  44- 
and  the  Pharisees  heard  his  parables,  they  per- 

46  ceived  that  he  spake  of  them.  And  when  they 
sought  to  lay  hold  on  him,  they  feared  the  multi- 
tudes, because  they  took  him  for  a  prophet. 

22      And   Jesus    answered    and   spake   again   in 
2  parables  unto  them,   saying,  The  kingdom  of 


42.  The  quotation  from  Ps.  cxviii.  22  3  solemnly  connects  the 
rejection  of  Himself  with  a  prophetic  voice  out  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  brings  home  to  the  chief  priests  their  guilt  from  the 
authority  which  they  most  respected.  This  use  of  Scripture  is 
overwhelming. 

43.  The  threat  is  only  .in  Matthew.  The  rejection  of  Israel  is 
recorded  by  the  most  Hebraic  of  the  four  evangelists. 

44.  The  stumbling  on  the  stone  (Isa.  viii.  15).  But  the  stone  crush- 
ing those  on  whom  it  falls  is  from  Dan.  ii.  34-5  (cf.  Zech.  xii.  3). 

45.  The  chapter  is  finely  summed  up.  He  has  spoken  His  word 
against  the  chief  priests  and  elders ;  they  have  not  been  able  to 
evade  it ;  but  the  common  people  still  receive  Him  gladly,  and  the 
plot  against  Him  must  be  carried  out  by  subtlety,  lest  the  people 
should  be  provoked.  The  guilty  son,  who  said  'I  go ',  and  went 
not,  becomes  the  rebel,  the  assassin  of  his  rightful  lord.  That  is 
the  course  of  human  depravity. 

Ch.  xxii.  Jesus  is  in  the  city  to  be  offered,  but  He  makes 
it  clear  that  He  is  there  to  judge  it  too.  The  doom  is  after 
all  not  His,  but  the  city's.     This  chapter  and  the  next  contain 

O 


i94  St.  MATTHEW  XXII.  3 

heaven  is  likened  unto  a  certain  king,  which 
made  a  marriage  feast  for  his  son,  and  sent  3 
» Gr.         forth  his *  servants  to  call  them  that  were  bidden 
servants,    to  tne  marriage  feast :  and  they  would  not  come. 


His  judgement  on  the  Jewish  authorities,  the  Sanhedrists,  Scribes 
and  Pharisees,  Chief  Priests  and  Sadducees,  Herodians,  elders, 
the  whole  body  of  interested  men,  who  were  blind  to  His  claims, 
the  opponents  of  His  truth.  In  chap,  xxiv  the  doom  of  the  city 
itself  is  pronounced. 

The  present  chapter  might  be  entitled,  not  the  Rejection  of 
Jesus,  though  that  is  the  apparent  theme,  but  the  Rejection  of  the 
Pharisees  and  Sadducees. 

From  this  point  of  view,  the  meaning  of  the  Parable  of  the 
King's  Supper  is  made  clear,  and  the  closing  comment  of  ver.  14 
is  found  to  be  a  key  to  the  whole,  '  many  ' — viz.  all  Israel — '  are 
called,  but  few  ' — viz.  simple  people  who  recognized  and  received 
Jesus — 'are  chosen'  (cf.  John  i.  11-13). 

1-14.  The  Parable  of  the  King's  Supper.  The  similar  parable 
in  Luke  xiv.  15-21  must  be  allowed  to  stand  by  itself.  The  points 
of  difference  are  too  great  to  permit  the  two  to  interpret  each 
other.  Here  the  whole  point  is  that  a  King  makes  the  Feast,  so 
that  they  who  refused  to  come  are  not  only  rude,  but  rebels  (ver.  7). 
It  is  a  Marriage-feast,  which  probably  means  that  the  heir-apparent 
is  by  it  recognized  as  the  King's  colleague.  Thus  Jesus  is  making 
an  implicit  claim  for  Himself;  He  is  the  King's  son,  and  they  who 
reject  Him  reject  God.  Thus  the  significant  episode  of  the  guest 
without  the  wedding-garment,  which  does  not  seem  to  bear 
directly  on  the  main  purpose  of  the  parable  (and  is  wanting  in 
Luke),  is  all-important  as  a  sign  of  the  nature  of  the  Kingdom 
which  Jesus  would  establish  on  the  ruins  of  Judaism.  This 
parable  is  a  fellow  to  that  of  the  labourers  in  the  vineyard 
(xxi.  33).  There  God  demands,  here  He  only  gives.  There  the 
punishment  falls  on  evildoers,  here  it  also  falls  on  those  who 
decline  the  good  (ver.  5  and  12).  There  the  governing  classes  of 
Jerusalem  alone  were  in  view  ;  here  all  mankind. 

2.  a  marriage  feast.  The  word  is  plural,  like  '  nuptials ',  for  the 
feast,  according  to  Eastern  custom,  lasted  seven  days. 

3.  them  that  were  bidden  by  a  previous  notice.  They  are  now 
royally  summoned,  and  perhaps  escorted  to  the  banquet  (see 
Esther  vi.  14).  1  Thess.  ii.  12  uses  this  language  of  God  inviting 
us  to  His  kingdom.  The  Rabbis  pictured  the  'age  to  come'  as  a 
banquet,  to  which  the  righteous  are  invited.  These  bidden  guests 
are  Israel,  that  chosen  people  whose  whole  history  had  tended  to 
this  point,  who  existed  in  the  world  to  be  the  nucleus  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God. 


St.  MATTHEW  XXII.  4-8  195 

4  Again  he  sent  forth  other  1  servants,  saying,  Tell  •  Gr. 
them  that  are  bidden,   Behold,   I  have  made  servants. 
ready  my  dinner :  my  oxen  and  my  fatlings  are 
killed,  and  all   things  are  ready :  come  to  the 

5  marriage  feast.     But  they  made  light  of  it,  and 
went  their  ways,  one  to  his  own  farm,  another 

6  to  his  merchandise :  and  the  rest  laid  hold  on 
his  *  servants,  and  entreated  them  shamefully, 

7  and  killed  them.     But  the  king  was  wroth ;  and 
he  sent  his  armies,  and  destroyed  those  mur- 

8  derers,  and  burned  their  city.    Then  saith  he  to 
his  1  servants,  The  wedding  is  ready,  but  they 

and  they  would  not  come.  This  was  the  meaning  of  the 
hostility  which  confronted  Jesus  in  Jerusalem. 

4.  other  servants.  These  stand  for  the  apostolic  messengers 
after  Christ's  ascension.  They  are  able  to  issue  the  invitation 
with  fuller  details — '  all  things  are  ready ',  (cf.  xx.  23") — and  with 
more  pressing  eagerness,  'come  to  the  marriage-feast.' 

The  bulls  and  the  stall-beasts  prepared  show  the  greatness  of 
the  feast.  It  is  indeed  the  whole  of  humanity  which  is  invited  to 
the  table  of  God.  This  is  Christ's  conception  of  His  gospel ;  it  is 
an  invitation,  to  the  Jew  first,  and  afterwards  to  the  Gentile,  '  to 
sit  at  endless  feast,  enjoying  each  the  other's  good.' 

This  '  divine  philosophy  is  not  harsh  or  crabbed  as  dull  fools 
suppose,'  it  is  a  call  to  the  highest  good,  which  all  men  in 
a  purblind  way  are  seeking,  to  that  good  cheer  which  men  love, 
but  find  so  disappointing  when  it  ministers  only  to  the  bodily 
appetites. 

5.  This  is  Christ's  view  of  the  Jewish  world  in  which  He  was 
working.  They  were  all  too  busy  with  their  lands  and  their 
business  to  attend  to  God  or  their  own  souls. 

6.  The  indifference,  manifest  in  most,  kindles  in  some  to  a 
bitter  hostility  ;  they  hate  the  messengers  of  love,  the  servants 
of  the  King  who  call  them  to  the  feast. 

They  who  would  save  men  take  their  lives  in  their  hands. 

7.  The  language  is  coloured  by  the  fate  which  overtook 
Jerusalem  in  a.  d.  70. 

his  armies.  The  armies  of  Titus  were  God's  armies,  just  as 
the  Assyrian  of  old  was  called  'the  rod  of  his  anger'  (Isa.  x.  5). 
But  the  doom  which  fell  on  Jerusalem  in  a.  d.  70  awaits  all  man- 
kind who  reject  the  invitation  of  God. 

8.  Because  the  Jews  were  not  worthy,  the  invitation  goes  out 

O  2 


196  St.  MATTHEW  XXII.  9-12 

that  were  bidden  were  not  worthy.   Go  ye  there-  9 
fore  unto  the  partings  of  the  highways,  and  as 
many  as  ye  shall  find,  bid  to  the  marriage  feast. 
1  Gr.  And  those  *  servants  went  out  into  the  highways,  10 

servants,  and  gathered  together  all  as  many  as  they  found, 
both  bad  and  good  :  and  the  wedding  was  filled 
with  guests.  But  when  the  king  came  in  to  be-  11 
hold  the  guests,  he  saw  there  a  man  which  had 
not  on  a  wedding-garment ;  and  he  saith  unto 
him,  Friend,  how  earnest  thou  in  hither  not  12 
having  a  wedding-garment  ?   And  he  was  speech- 


to  the  whole  world ;  '  the  highways '  of  the  world,  with  the 
mingled  good  and  bad  upon  them,  mean  all  and  sundry,  every 
human  soul. 

9.  partings  of  the  highways.  If  this  were  the  meaning  of 
&c£o5os,  it  would  be  appropriate  to  quote  Ezek.  xxi.  si,  where 
a  different  Greek  phrase  occurs  in  the  LXX.  But  the  word  is 
more  likely  intended  to  describe  the  '  through  roads  which  enter 
a  city  and  go  out  on  the  other  side '.  All  the  indiscriminate 
multitude  of  a  capital  town  is  invited.  Quickly  are  the  King's 
tables  filled  in  this  way. 

10.  guests,  lit.  of  those  reclining  at  the  table  as  in  viii.  n. 

11.  But  now  Jesus  shows  that  the  universal  invitation  does  not 
mean  that  men  can  come  to  the  feast  of  God  without  a  genuine 
fitness.  The  imagery  is  taken  from  Zeph.  i.  7,  8  :  '  Hold  thy 
peace  at  the  presence  of  the  Lord  God :  for  the  day  of  the  Lord  is 
at  hand  :  for  the  Lord  hath  prepared  a  sacrifice,  he  hath  sanctified 
his  guests.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  day  of  the  Lord's 
sacrifice,  that  I  will  punish  the  princes,  and  the  king's  sons,  and 
all  such  as  are  clothed  with  foreign  apparel.' 

An  Eastern  magnate  gives  garments  to  his  guests  (Gen. 
xlv.  22  :  cf.  2  Kings  v.  22  ;  Isa.  lxi.  10). 

12.  This  guest  thought  his  own  work-a-day  clothes  good 
enough,  and  declined  the  festal  robe.  When  his  unsuitable  attire 
was  observed  by  the  royal  host,  he  was  dumbfounded.  He  was 
ejected  into  the  dark  street. 

What  is  the  interpretation  of  the  wedding  garment  ?  It  is 
spiritual  fitness  for  heaven.  But  it  is  clear  that  the  apostles 
understood  it  to  be  the  righteousness  of  God  by  faith  in  Christ 
Jesus.  And  Paul  speaks  of  'putting  on  the  Lord  Jesus'  as 
a  garment.  Though  all  men  are  invited  to  the  Feast  of  God,  only 
they  who  can  stand  His  inspection  will  remain  at  the  banquet  ; 


St.  MATTHEW  XXII.  13-16  197 

13  less.    Then  the  king  said  to  the  1  servants,  Bind  '°.r'. . 

0  '  ministers 

him  hand  and  foot,  and  cast  him  out  into  the 
outer  darkness ;  there  shall  be  the  weeping  and 

14  gnashing  of  teeth.    For  many  are  called,  but  few 
chosen. 

15  Then  went  the  Pharisees,  and  took  counsel 

16  how  they  might  ensnare  him  in  his  talk.  And  they 
send  to  him  their  disciples,  with  the  Herodians, 

and  only  they  who  are  regenerated  by  faith  in  Jesus  can  stand  His 
inspection.  All  this  New  Testament  truth  grows  naturally  out 
of  our  Lord's  own  parable. 

13.  the  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth.  See  viii.  12,  xiii.  42,  50, 
xxiv.  51,  xxv.  30;  Luke  xiii.  25.  A  modern  traveller  in  Pales- 
tine, Furrer,  narrates  an  experience  of  hearing  '  the  howling  and 
teeth-grinding  of  hungry  wolves',  which,  he  thinks,  explains  the 
image.  But  the  weeping  and  despair  are  the  remorse  of  those 
who  have  rejected  the  invitation  of  God,  or  in  their  pride  and 
self-confidence  have  elected  to  appear  in  their  own  righteousness 
instead  of  in  His. 

14.  The  many  called  (i.e.  invited,  ver.  3,  8 ;  1  Thess.  ii.  12) 
and  few  chosen,  which  has  crept  into  some  MSS.  at  xx.  16 
quite  inappropriately,  is  suitable  enough  here.  All  are  invited 
to  the  Feast  of  God,  first  the  Jews  and  then  the  Gentiles  ;  but 
many  refuse  point-blank,  and  others  presume  to  come  on  the 
strength  of  their  own  merit ;  and  thus  those  who  finally  sit  down 
at  His  board  are  few.     What  sadness  in  His  tone  ! 

15-22.  The  dialectical  victory  over  the  Pharisees  and 
Herodians. 

These  attempts  of  the  authorities  to  entangle  Jesus  in  talk, 
insignificant  in  themselves,  are  priceless  to  us,  because  they 
elicited  two  of  His  greatest  utterances,  and  led  Him  to  propound 
a  question  to  them,  which  is  of  far-reaching  value.  The  question 
of  the  nationalists  educed  the  principle  that  the  kingdom  of  God 
completely  overrides  all  political  conditions.  Whatever  may  be 
the  national  state  in  which  men  are  called  to  live,  they  may  be 
God's  subjects  and  render  to  Him  His  due.  This  great  thought, 
struck  out  by  the  subtle  question  of  adversaries,  remains  a  charter 
of  Christian  liberty. 

16.  Herodians.  The  men  who  saw  in  the  kingship  of  the  house 
of  Herod  a  certain  degree  of  home-rule  and  independence  for  the 
Jews.  They  resented  the  Roman  suzerainty.  The  conviction 
held  in  common  with  the  Pharisees  united  the  two  groups  in  this 
question.  The  insincerity  of  their  words  to  Jesus  is  obvious  ; 
this  from  the  men  who  represented  Him  as  actuated  by  Satan  ! 


198 


St.  MATTHEW  XXII.   17-23 


1  Or, 

Teacher 


2  See 
marginal 
note  on 
ch.  xviii. 
28. 


3Gr. 

saying. 


saying,  '  Master,  we  know  that  thou  art  true,  and 
teachest  the  way  of  God  in  truth,  and  carest  not 
for  any  one :  for  thou  regardest  not  the  person 
of  men.   Tell  us  therefore,  What  thinkest  thou?  17 
Is  it  lawful  to  give  tribute  unto  Caesar,  or  not? 
But  Jesus  perceived  their  wickedness,  and  said,  18 
Why  tempt  ye  me,  ye  hypocrites  ?  Shew  me  the  19 
tribute  money.     And  they  brought  unto  him  a 
2  penny.    And  he  saith  unto  them,  Whose  is  this  20 
image  and  superscription  ?    They  say  unto  him,  2 1 
Caesar's.     Then   saith   he   unto   them,  Render 
therefore  unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's  ; 
and  unto  God  the  things  that  are  God's.     And  22 
when  they  heard  it,  they  marvelled,  and  left  him, 
and  went  their  way. 

On  that  day  there  came  to  him  Sadducees,  23 
s  which  say  that  there  is  no  resurrection  :  and 


Master :  rather  Teacher  (so  ver.  24V 

17.  The  trap  was  skilfully  laid.  Should  He  say,  'It  is  lawful,' 
He  is  denounced  as  unpatriotic.  Should  He  say,  '  It  is  not  lawful,' 
He  is  denounced  to  Rome  as  a  rebel. 

18.  They  were  amazed  at  the  ease  with  which  a  lofty  nature, 
that  takes  refuge  in  eternal  things,  evades  the  false  issues  of  time. 

19.  The  denarius  bore  the  stamp  of  the  emperor.  Clearly  it 
belonged  to  him,  and  must  be  paid  to  him.  The  reply  was 
irresistible.  But  the  added  principle,  '  unto  God  the  things  that 
are  God's,'  suddenly  lifts  the  soul  out  of  the  realm  of  politics 
into  that  of  religion. 

Deut.  xvii.  15  certainly  forbade  the  payment  of  tribute  to 
a  foreign  king.  But  that  same  Deuteronomy  foretold  the  punish- 
ment which  had  now  actually  fallen  on  guilty  Israel.  Caesar's 
yoke  was  the  predicted  penalty,  and  now  Jews  must  pay  tribute 
as  a  point  of  political  justice.  But  the  true  Kingdom  of  God  in- 
terpenetrates and  overrides  all  lordships  of  men.  Give  God  His 
due,  and  all  will  be  right,  whether  you  live  in  a  constitutional 
country  like  England,  or  in  an  irresponsible  despotism  like  Turkey. 
It  is  not  the  rule  of  foreigners  over  the  nation,  but  the  rule  of  all 
ungodly  powers  in  the  inner  life  of  man,  that  the  sovereignty  of 
God  aims  at  removing. 

23-33.  The  dialectical  victory  over  the  Sadducees, 


St.  MATTHEW  XXII.   24-30  199 

24  they  asked  him,  saying,  '  Master,  Moses  said,  If  teacher 
a  man  die,  having  no  children,  his  brother  2  shall  2  Gr.  shall 

.  .         ..  .  .  i-ii  Perform 

marry  his  wife,  and  raise  up  seed  unto  his  brother,  the  duty 

25  Now  there  were  with  us  seven  brethren  :  and  the  band's 
first  married  and  deceased,  and  having  no  seed  to°htsr 

26  left  his  wife  unto  his  brother ;  in  like  manner  compare 
the  second  also,  and  the  third,  unto  the 3  seventh.  „  *  5. 

-T  And  after  them  all  the  woman  died.     In  the  3Gr- 

seven. 

28  resurrection  therefore  whose  wife  shall  she  be 

29  of  the  seven  ?  for  they  all  had  her.  But  Jesus 
answered  and  said  unto  them,  Ye  do  err,  not 
knowing  the  scriptures,  nor  the  power  of  God.  « Many 

30  For  in  the  resurrection  they  neither  marry,  nor  auKl 
are  given   in   marriage,   but  are  as  angels 4  in  J/gJJ? 

The  Sadducees  denied  not  only  the  resurrection  but  the 
existence  of  spirits  (see  Acts  xxiii.  7). 

24.  Like  all  unspiritual  men  these  questioners  are  grotesque 
and  silly,  when  they  attempt  to  deal  with  eternal  things.  The 
puzzle  they  propound  was  answered  even  by  the  Talmudists,  who 
said  that  in  the  resurrection  the  wife  would  belong  to  the  first 
husband. 

The  law  of  levirite  marriage  is  in  Deut.  xxv.  5  ;  the  word 
'  raise  up  seed  unto  his  brother '  is  used  in  Gen.  xxxviii.  8.  The 
regulation  for  preserving  a  family  in  the  event  of  a  man's  early 
death  prevailed  among  many  Semitic  tribes. 

28.  What  a  crude,  materialistic  mind  it  is  which  would  see  in 
this  circumstantial  difficulty  a  disproof  of  resurrection  !  The 
Power  that  can  raise  the  dead,  can  surely  settle  incidental 
difficulties. 

29.  We  cannot  cite  any  passage  of  Scripture,  to  ignorance 
of  which  Jesus  here  refers.  But  the  scriptural  argument  employed 
in  ver.  3r  shows  them  how  little  they,  who  deny  the  survival  of 
the  soul  after  death,  can  really  believe  even  the  Pentateuch.  The 
ignorance  of  the  power  of  God  is  still  more  disastrous.  Can  men 
be  said  to  believe  in  God  at  all,  who  do  not  believe  that  He  is  the 
God  of  the  living,  and  able  to  raise  the  dead  ? 

30.  This  statement  is  common  sense.  Birth,  death,  marriage, 
are  incidents  of  the  present  life.  Beings  that  are  immortal  are  no 
longer  subject  to  these  incidents.  In  heaven  are  spirits  who 
were  not  born  and  will  not  die.  They  who  attain  to  the  heavenly 
state,  'sons  of  the  resurrection  '   (Luke  xx.  36),  will  be  Icrayyekoi, 


200  St.  MATTHEW  XXII.  31-37 

heaven.    But  as  touching  the  resurrection  of  the  31 
dead,  have  ye  not  read  that  which  was  spoken 
unto  you  by  God,  saying,   I  am  the  God  of  32 
Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God 
of  Jacob  ?     God  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but 
of  the  living.     And  when  the  multitudes  heard  33 
it,  they  were  astonished  at  his  teaching. 

But  the  Pharisees,  when  they  heard  that  he  34 
had  put  the  Sadducees  to  silence,  gathered  them- 
selves together.     And  one  of  them,  a  lawyer,  35 
1  Or,  asked  him  a  question,  tempting  him,  *  Master,  36 

which  is  the  great  commandment  in  the  law? 
And  he  said  unto  him,  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  37 
thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul, 

equal  to  the  angels.  The  spiritual  mind  can  easily  see  this.  But 
the  Sadducees  were  not  spiritual ;  for  them  an  argument  must  be 
brought  from  the  Pentateuch. 

31.  They  are  referred  to  Exod.  iii.  6.  When  God  describes 
Himself  as  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  does  He  mean 
merely  that  He  was  their  God  while  they  lived — the  God  who  let 
them  live  and  let  them  die  and  pass  out  of  being?  That  would 
make  Him,  not  God,  but  the  master  of  a  puppet-show,  who 
plays  with  His  human  puppets  and  then  destroys  them.  Is  that 
the  God  in  whom  the  Sadducees  believe  ? 

By  this  startling  and  convincing  argument  Jesus  shows  that  men 
who  den}'  the  resurrection  deny  God  ;  for  the  God  that  remains  to 
thought,  if  His  creatures  perish,  is  a  mere  arbitrary  creator,  and  not 
a  Being  who  enters  into  moral  and  spiritual  relations  with  men. 

33.  No  wonder  the  multitude  were  astonished.  The  argument 
was  not  only  crushing  to  the  questioners  ;  it  is  convincing  for  all 
time. 

34-40.   The  dialectical  victory  over  a  lawyer. 

35.  a  laivycr,  i.  e.  a  scribe  learned  in  the  Jewish  law.  In 
Mark  xii.  28-34  the  questioner  does  not  'tempt'  Him,  but  comes 
as  an  honest  inquirer,  who  approves  the  Lord's  answer  and  is 
pronounced  to  be  not  far  from  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  But  with 
whatever  motive  the  question  was  put,  the  answer  is  invaluable. 

37.  This  passage  from  Deut.  vi.  5  was,  and  still  is,  uttered  by 
every  pious  Jew  twice  every  day.  The  second  commandment  is 
from  Lev.  xix.  18.  Keeping  within  the  limits  of  Judaism  Jesus 
shows  that  the  sum  of  religion  is  there.     The  innumerable  com- 


St.  MATTHEW  XXII.  38-43  20 1 

38  and  with  all  thy  mind.     This  is  the  great  and 

3y  first  commandment.    1  And  a  second  like  unto  it  x  Or,  And 

a  second 

is  this,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself,  is  like 

40  On  these  two  commandments  hangeth  the  whole  Thou  ' 

,  ,     ,  .  shalt  love 

law,  and  the  prophets.  $& 

41  Now  while  the  Pharisees  were  gathered  to- 
gether,  Jesus  asked   them   a  question,   saying, 

43  What  think  ye  of  the  Christ  ?  whose  son  is  he  ? 
43  They  say  unto  him,  The  son  of  David.   He  saith 

unto  them,  How  then  doth  David  in  the  Spirit 

call  him  Lord,  saying, 


mandments  must  be  unified,  reduced  to  a  common  principle.  For 
while  a  law  consists  of  countless  details  it  is  a  letter  which  kills. 
A  spirit  which  gives  life  to  it  must  be  found.  This  spirit  the 
Rabbis  never  could  find.  Jesus  found  it  in  the  Law  which  was 
before  their  eyes. 

40.  Religion  is  not  to  be  found  in  deeds,  which  are  far  too  varied 
and  manifold  to  be  estimated,  but  in  a  certain  affection  of  the 
soul.  That  affection  is  Love  ;  love  to  God,  love  to  men.  The 
love  of  God  must  proceed  from  all  that  is  within  (Ps.  ciii.  i), 
affections,  will,  and  mind  ;  and  it  must  be  first,  because  only  as 
a  man  is  right  with  God  can  he  be  right  with  men  ;  nor  can  a  man 
give  to  any  creature  what  he  ought  to  give  to  God 

This  simplification  of  the  Law,  that  to  love  one's  neighbour  is  to 
keep  the  whole  law,  plays  a  great  part  in  St.  Paul's  exposition 
of  the  fulfilment  of  the  Law  in  Christ  (Gal.  v.  14). 

41-6.  Christ's  own  unanswerable  question. 

Jesus  has  now  allowed  Himself  to  be  called  Messias  (xx.  30, 
xxi.  15).  But  He  cannot  claim  the  title  till  men  understand  it. 
And  how  little  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  understood  it,  is  shown 
by  this  passage.  They  were  all  agreed  that  Messias  (Christ) 
would  be  the  Son  of  David.  They  were  also  as  exegetes  ac- 
customed to  say  that  Ps.  ex  referred  to  Him.  But  they  had  not 
followed  out  the  implication  of  their  own  teaching.  David  calls 
Messias,  according  to  their  teaching,  'my  Lord.'  This  involved 
the  idea  that  the  Messias  would  be  superior  to  David  ;  not  in 
worldly  state — that  was  scarcely  possible — but  in  intrinsic  nature. 
The  paradox  of  Messianic  expectation  was  resolved  by  the  coming 
of  Jesus  ;  a  descendant  of  David,  according  to  the  flesh,  is  yet  the 
Lord  from  heaven.  No,  this  reading  of  their  own  Messianic  lore, 
was  beyond  them.     They  were  henceforth  silenced. 

43.  in  the  Spirit,  i.  e.  the  Holy  Spirit  (Mark  xii.  36). 


202  St.  MATTHEW  XXII.  44— XXIII.  3 

The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord,  44 

Sit  thou  on  my  right  hand, 

Till  I  put  thine  enemies  underneath  thy  feet  ? 
If  David  then  calleth  him  Lord,  how  is  he  his  45 
son  ?     And  no  one  was  able  to  answer  him  a  46 
word,  neither  durst  any  man  from  that  day  forth 
ask  him  any  more  questions. 

Then  spake  Jesus  to  the  multitudes  and  to  his  23 
disciples,  saying,  The  scribes  and  the  Pharisees  2 
sit  on  Moses'  seat :  all  things  therefore  whatso-  3 

Critics  maintain  now  that  Ps.  ex  was  written  long  after  David's 
time,  perhaps  in  143  b.  c,  to  celebrate  Simon  the  Maccabee.  But 
this  has  no  bearing  on  the  passage  before  us.  Jesus  uses  the 
psalm  as  the  Pharisees  understood  it.  He  argues  from  their 
interpretation  of  it.  Even  if  the  psalm  was  not  written  by 
David,  and  if  neither  the  Jews  nor  Jesus  knew  what  the  critics 
affirm,  the  argument  would  lose  nothing  of  its  weight.  Jesus 
does  not  base  His  claim  on  the  psalm  ;  He  only  shows  these  men 
that  their  own  Messianic  doctrine  implicitly  supported  His  claim. 

Ch.  xxiii.     The  denunciations  of  Jesus. 

First  Jesus  passes  judgement  on  the  religious  leaders  of  Jeru- 
salem ;  then  He  turns  to  them  and  delivers  the  sentence.  The 
judgement  on  them  gives  occasion  to  describe  afresh  what  He 
wishes  His  disciples  to  be  (ver.  1-12).  The  sentence  to  them  is 
contained  in  Seven  Woes,  and  ends  with  a  tender  lament  over 
Jerusalem,  which  was  led  astray  by  their  hypocrisies  (ver.  13-39). 

This  great  and  fiery  discourse  is  represented  in  Mark  and  Luke 
by  two  verses  only  (Mark  xii.  38-40 ;  Luke  xx.  45-7),  from 
which  a  sentence  was  foisted  into  the  text  of  Matthew  (ver.  14), 
omitted  by  the  R.  V.  (see  margin).  But  Luke  gives  much  of  the 
same  material  at  the  table  of  the  Pharisee  (xi.  37-52).  Matthew 
alone  records  the  commendation  of  the  authority  of  the  Scribes 
with  which  the  passage  opens  (ver.  1-3  a). 

1-12.  The  character  and  temper  of  the  Scribes  (and  Pharisees, 
in  Matthew  only)  are  contrasted  with  what  Jesus  demands  in  His 
own  disciples.  Thus  the  passage  becomes  a  test  for  Christian 
ministers  in  all  time.  We  must  be  careful  not  to  limit  the  rebuke 
to  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  of  that  day  ;  rather  we  must  consider 
whether  it  applies  to  ourselves.     He  is  no  respecter  of  persons. 

i.  the  multitudes  and  to  his  disciples.  An  inner  ring  of  disciples, 
an  outer  ring  of  the  people,  and  beyond,  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees 
fuming  with  indignation  at  the  preacher. 

2.  We  do  not  know  in  what  sense  the  Pharisees  sat  in  Moses' 


St.  MATTHEW  XXIII.  4-7  203 

ever  they  bid  you,  these  do  and  observe  :  but  do 
not  ye  after  their  works ;  for  they  say,  and  do 

4  not.  Yea,  they  bind  heavy  burdens '  and  grievous  1  Many 
to  be  borne,  and  lay  them  on  men's  shoulders ;  aKorL 
but  they  themselves  will  not  move  them  with  S°mlt 

5  their  finger.     But  all  their  works  they  do  for  to  g^lfous 
be  seen  of  men  :   for  they  make  broad  their  bornc- 
phylacteries,  and  enlarge  the  borders  of  their 

6  garments,  and  love  the  chief  place  at  feasts,  and 

7  the  chief  seats  in  the  synagogues,  and  the  salu- 
tations in  the  marketplaces,  and  to  be  called  of 


seat.  But  the  scribes,  as  the  official  guardians  and  interpreters 
of  the  Mosaic  Law,  deserve  respect  just  as  the  clergy  do  to-day. 
It  was  customary  to  stand  to  read  the  Law  and  to  sit  to  expound 
it  (Luke  iv.  16,  20). 

sit.  It  is  rather  ;sate ',  as  if  their  authority  were  of  the  past. 
Grammarians,  however,  tell  us  that  it  is  the  gnomic  aorist,  and 
means  *  are  wont  to  sit  \ 

3.  Christ  seems  here  to  admit  the  idea  of  teachers,  or  clergy, 
who  have  authority  as  interpreters  of  truth,  and  yet  not  character 
to  illustrate  the  truth.  But  the  term  of  the  sentence  at  ver.  8 
implies  that,  while  that  anomaly  was  tolerable  under  the  old  law, 
it  could  not  be  tolerated  in  His  economy. 

4.  They  bind  together  as  sheaves  heavy  back-loads  of  rules, 
like  men  who  lay  burdens  on  asses,  but  will  not  carry  them  with 
their  fingers. 

5.  While  they  do  none  of  the  real  works  of  the  Law,  they  lay 
immense  stress  on  the  external  acts  which  may  give  a  repute 
for  piety. 

phylacteries,  lit.  '  keepers,'  boxes  in  which  were  kept  parch- 
ment strips  inscribed  with  texts,  such  as  Exod.  xiii.  1-10,  11-16; 
Deut.  vi.  4-10,  xi.  13  22.  The  boxes  were  bound  on  the  forehead 
or  on  the  left  arm  near  the  heart.  The  bigger  the  box  the  more 
striking  the  piety.  This  shows  the  danger  of  distinctive  dress  for 
ministers  and  religious  persons;  so  easily  it  acquires  the  motive 
'  to  be  seen  of  men  '. 

enlarge  the  borders  of  their  garments.  Num.  xv.  37-40  :  the 
fringes  were  originally  intended  to  remind  the  wearer  of  the  com- 
mandments. Now  they  are  used  to  remind  the  beholder  of  the 
wearer's  religion. 

6.  They  covet  honour,  popularity,  and  recognition  of  their 
authority. 


204 


St.  MATTHEW  XXIII.  8-13 


1  Gr.  the 
heavenly. 

3Gr. 

greater. 

'Or, 

minister 

«Gr. 

before. 

5  Some 
authori- 
ties insert 
here,  or 
after 
ver.  12, 
ver.  14 
Woe  unto 
you, 
scribes 
and 

Pharisees, 
hypo* 
crites! 
for  ye 
devour 
widows'1 


men,  Rabbi.     But  be  not  ye  called  Rabbi :  for  8 
one  is  your  teacher,  and  all  ye  are  brethren. 
And  call  no  man  your  father  on  the  earth :  for  9 
one  is  your  Father, 1  which  is  in  heaven.    Neither  10 
be  ye  called  masters :  for  one  is  your  master, 
even  the  Christ.    But  he  that  is  2  greatest  among  1 1 
you  shall  be  your  3  servant.     And   whosoever  12 
shall  exalt  himself  shall  be  humbled ;  and  who- 
soever shall  humble  himself  shall  be  exalted. 

But  woe  unto   you,   scribes   and   Pharisees,  13 
hypocrites !  because  ye  shut   the    kingdom  of 
heaven  4  against  men  :  for  ye  enter  not  in  your- 
selves, neither  suffer  ye  them  that  are  entering  in 
to  enter.5 


Rabbi,  '  m}'  master,'  almost  exactly  the  equivalent  of  Mon- 
signore.  It  was  a  title  for  the  scribe,  which  had  but  lately  come 
into  vogue;  but  see  Dalman,  Words  of  Jesus,  332. 

8.  Jesus  forbids  His  disciples  to  be  called  Monsignore  or  the 
like.  There  is  but  one  Teacher  in  Christendom,  Himself.  All 
disciples  are  brethren,  and  none  may  lord  it  over  the  rest. 

9.  Jesus  forbids  His  disciples  to  be  called  Father,  Padre,  or 
Pope.  There  is  but  one  Father.  Abba,  i.  e.  Father,  applied  as  a 
name  to  certain  Jews,  e.  g.  Abba  Chikiya,  c.  50  a.  d.  But  the 
Targum  corrects  '  My  Father '  in  2  Kings  ii.  12,  v.  13,  vi.  21,  &c. 

10.  Jesus  forbids  them  to  be  called  master,  or  guide  ;  because 
He  is  the  ever-present  and  all-sufficient  Leader.  Rabbi,  pater, 
ductor  (Bengel)  is  an  ascending  order.  It  is  strange  that  the 
Church  allows  the  titles  which  her  Lord  forbade. 

11.  Jesus  bids  His  disciples  to  be  called  ministers  (i.  e.  ser- 
vants", and  makes  humility  the  sole  clerical  attire. 

God  many  a  spiritual  house  has  reared,  but  never  one 
Where  lowliness  was  not  placed  first,  the  corner-stone. 

(Trench.) 
13-33.  The  Seven  Woes  against  unfaithful  Ministers. 
13.  First  Woe.  They  shut  the  kingdom  of  heaven  in  the  face  of 
men,  by  taking  their  place  at  the  gate  and  demanding  attention  to 
themselves.  'They  take  away  the  key  of  knowledge'  (Luke  xi. 
52),  forbidding  the  laity  to  think  or  to  inquire.  And  they  never 
enter  in  themselves,  for  their  dogma  is  as  dead  to  them  as  to  the 
people. 


St.  MATTHEW  XXIII.  15-20  205 

15  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypo-  *™ftes> 
crites  !  for  ye  compass  sea  and  land  to  make  whiujor 

*  r  a  pretence 

one  proselyte ;  and  when  he  is  become  so,  ye  y* ma^ 
make  him  twofold  more  a  son   of  l  hell  than  prayers: 

therefore 
yourselves.  ye  shall 

receii>e 

16  Woe  unto  you,  ye  blind  guides,  which  say,  greater 
Whosoever  shall  swear  by  the  "temple,  it  is  nation. 
nothing;  but  whosoever  shall  swear  by  the  gold  xii.40; 

17  of  the  2  temple,  he  is  8a  debtor.     Ye  fools  and  47u 
blind :  for  whether  is  greater,  the  gold,  or  the  XQeiunna. 
2  temple  that  hath  sanctified  the  gold  ?     And,  2  Or,  sane- 

.     .  .  tuary : 

18  Whosoever  shall  swear  by  the  altar,  it  is  nothing  j  as  in 

vcr.  'XK, 

but  whosoever  shall  swear  by  the  gift  that  is  3  0r, 

19  upon  it,  he  is  s  a  debtor.    Ye  blind  :  for  whether  b^"(tly 
is  greater,  the  gift,  or  the  altar  that  sanctifieth 

20  the  gift  ?     He  therefore  that  sweareth  by  the 
altar,  sweareth  by  it,  and  by  all  things  thereon. 

15.  The  Second  Woe  (no  parallel  in  Luke).  Utterly  incom- 
petent for  spiritual  functions,  they  are  yet  eager  to  exercise  them. 
Their  anxiety  to  proselytize  is  wonderful ;  for  their  proselytes 
become  more  the  sons  of  Gehenna  than  themselves  ;  we  expect 
'than  before',  but  the  expression  'than  yourselves'  is  as  striking 
as  it  is  startling. 

16-22.  The  Third  Woe  (this  is  only  in  Matthew).  They  make 
a  Jesuitical  casuistry,  which  allows  one  sin  by  damning  another. 
The  principle  they  invented  was  that  the  special  form  of  the  com- 
mandment is  more  binding  than  the  general,  the  gold  of  the  temple 
is  more  sacred  than  the  temple,  the  gift  than  the  altar  ;  thus  an 
oath  by  the  temple,  or  by  the  altar  or  by  heaven  was  not  binding, 
while  an  oath  B37  the  gold,  or  the  gift  or  the  God,  was.  Some 
think  the  gold  meant  the  Corban  set  apart  for  sacred  use  (xv.  5). 
This  casuistry  is  hateful  to  simple  minds,  and  Christ  condemns  it. 
Temple  and  altar  and  heaven  are  the  same  as  gold  and  gift  and 
God.  There  is  but  One.  All  swearing  is  forbidden.1  Simple 
truth  is  the  sole  law  in  God's  world. 

1  Cf.  Martial,  xi.  94.  7  : 

Ecce,  negas  iurasque  mihi  per  templa  Tonantis 
Non  credo;   iura,  verpe,  per  Anchialum. 


206  St.  MATTHEW  XXIII.  21-25 

1  Or,  sane-  And  he  that  sweareth  by  the  temple,  sweareth  21 
asTr? '        by  it,  and  by  him  that  dwelleth  therein.    And  22 
r' 3>      he  that  sweareth  by  the  heaven,  sweareth  by  the 
throne  of  God,  and  by  him  that  sitteth  thereon. 
Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypo-  23 
2,9,r'  crites  !  for  ye  tithe  mint  and 2  anise  and  cummin, 

dill  J 

and  have  left  undone  the  weightier  matters  of 
the  law,  judgement,  and  mercy,  and  faith":  but 
these  ye  ought  to  have  done,  and  not  to  have 
left  the  other  undone..     Ye  blind  guides,  which  24 
strain  out  the  gnat,  and  swallow  the  camel. 

Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypo-  25 
crites  !  for  ye  cleanse  the  outside  of  the  cup  and 
of  the  platter,  but  within  they  are  full  from  ex- 


23.  The  Fourth  Woe.  They  lay  stress  on  ceremonial  trifles,  but 
the  all-important  truths  of  religion  they  neglect.  The  mint,  anise 
(or  dill),  and  cummin  are  small  herbs  used  for  food  or  medicine. 
It  was  a  Rabbinical  refinement  to  tithe  these  at  all.  Jesus,  how- 
ever, allows  the  tithing,  but  denounces  the  blindness  which  attends 
to  the  trifle  and  neglects  the  essent'al.     See  Lev.  xxvii.  30. 

judgement,  mercy,  and  faith.  In  Luke  xi.  42,  'judgement  and 
the  love  of  God.'  Possibly  mercy  and  love  are  to  be  traced  to  the 
same  Aramaic  word.  Jesus  has  in  mind  the  great  saying  ot 
Mic.  vi.  6-8.  Faith  is  here  the  equivalent  of  'walking  humbly 
with  God  ',  or  it  may  be  of  '  the  love  of  God  ',  in  Luke  xi.  42  ;  it 
stands  for  inward  and  spiritual  religion  as  contrasted  with  for- 
malism. 

24.  They  strained  out  the  gnat  lest  they  should  swallow  in  their 
wine  an  unclean  creature,  forbidden  in  Lev.  xi.  10,  23,  41,  42. 
The  camel  was  also  unclean  (Lev.  xi.  4).  The  monstrous  iniquit}^ 
of  injustice,  hardness,  and  equivocation  they  greedily  gulp  down. 

25.  Fifth  Woe.  They  clean  the  outside  and  neglect  the  inside. 
The  form  of  expression  is  determined  by  the  idea  of  a  full  cup  or 
a  full  dish  being  treated  as  the  whole,  the  symbol  of  a  man.  The 
outside  is  the  cup  or  the  platter  ;  the  inside  is  the  drink  or  the 
meat.  Ceremonial  religion  \ay%  the  stress  on  correctness  of  form, 
ritual,  sacrament,  church  building.  Christ  lays  all  the  stress  on 
the  heart,  the  intent,  the  character.  In  Luke  xi.  41  the  cleansing 
is  characteristically  identified  with  gifts  of  mere)'. 


St.  MATTHEW  XXIII.  26-32  207 

26  tortion  and  excess.  Thou  blind  Pharisee,  cleanse 
first  the  inside  of  the  cup  and  of  the  platter,  that 
the  outside  thereof  may  become  clean  also. 

27  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypo- 
crites !  for  ye  are  like  unto  whited  sepulchres, 
which  outwardly  appear  beautiful,  but  inwardly 
are  full  of  dead  men's  bones,  and  of  all  unclean- 

28  ness.  Even  so  ye  also  outwardly  appear  righteous 
unto  men,  but  inwardly  ye  are  full  of  hypocrisy 
and  iniquity. 

29  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypo- 
crites !  for  ye  build  the  sepulchres  of  the  pro- 
phets, and  garnish  the  tombs  of  the  righteous, 

30  and  say,  If  we  had  been  in  the  days  of  our 
fathers,  we  should  not  have  been  partakers  with 

31  them  in  the  blood  of  the  prophets.  Wherefore 
ye  witness  to  yourselves,  that  ye  are  sons  of  them 

32  that  slew  the  prophets.     Fill  ye  up  then   the 


26.  In  Luke  xi.  41 '  give  alms  '  instead  of  '  cleanse  '.  In  Hebrew 
»31  might  mean  either.  This,  therefore,  is  a  striking  indication  of 
the  Aramaic  in  which  Jesus  probably  spoke.  (Dalman,  Words  of 
Jesus,  p.  63.) 

27.  Sixth  Woe.  They  are  like  whited  sepulchres,  fair  without, 
foul  within.  Jesus  had  in  view  Ps.  v.  9,  '  their  throat  is  an  open 
sepulchre '  (cf.  Rom.  iir.  13).  The  tombs  were  whitewashed  every 
Passover,  that  men  might  not  contract  ceremonial  defilement  by 
unwittingly  touching  them.  The  men  who  so  scrupulously  avoided 
the  contact  with  tombs  are  themselves  tombs  !  In  Luke  xi.  44 
they  are  described  as  hidden  sepulchres  (unwhited)  on  which  men 
walk  unconsciously  and  are  defiled. 

29-33.  The  Seventh  Woe.  They  show  reverence  for  dead 
prophets,  but  alwrays  hate  and  crucify  the  living  prophet ;  in  the 
valley  of  Jehoshaphat  are  the  tombs  of  the  prophets,  kept  with  the 
utmost  reverence.  The  language  which  they  use  shows  their 
lineage  ;  they  are  the  descendants  of  the  prophet-slayers  ;  the 
obeisance  to  the  tombs  implies  no  change  of  disposition.  The}* 
must  do  after  their  nature  and  proceed  to  kill  and  crucify  the 
Prophet  speaking  to  them. 


208  St.  MATTHEW  XXIII.  33-36 

measure  of  your  fathers.     Ye  serpents,  ye  oft-  33 
spring  of  vipers,  how  shall  ye  escape  the  judge- 
» Gr.  ment  of 1  hell  ?    Therefore,  behold,  I  send  unto  34 

*e  ,enna-  you  prophets,  and  wise  men,  and  scribes  :  some 
of  them  shall  ye  kill  and  crucify ;  and  some  of 
them  shall  ye  scourge  in  your  synagogues,  and 
persecute  from  city  to  city  :  that  upon  you  may  35 
come  all  the  righteous  blood  shed  on  the  earth, 
from  the  blood  of  Abel  the  righteous  unto  the 
blood  of  Zachariah  son  of  Barachiah,  whom  ye 
slew  between  the  sanctuary  and  the  altar.  Verily  36 


34.  behold,  I  send  unto  you.  Jesus  turns  from  the  past  to  the 
future,  and  the  denunciation  becomes  a  prophecy.  In  Luke  xi.  49 
the  words  are  referred  to  'the  Wisdom  of  God',  and  seem 
intended  to  be  a  quotation  from  an  unknown  Scripture.  But 
Jesus  thinks  of  Himself  as  the  Wisdom  of  God,  under  the  image 
of  Prov.  viii.  He  is  the  Wisdom  that  is  justified  of  her  children 
(1  Cor.  i.  29).  Perhaps  He  conceives  Himself  speaking  before  the 
beginning  of  history  ;  or  perhaps  He  is  only  looking  forward  from 
the  historical  point  at  which  He  stood ;  in  which  means  by  '  pro- 
phets, wise  men,  and  scribes'  His  own  apostles  and  evange- 
lists (see  Luke  xi.  49,  prophets  and  apostles).     See  on  xiii.  52. 

35.  There  is  an  accumulation  of  guilt,  and  a  generation  which 
expiates  the  sins  of  centuries.  So  it  was  in  the  French  Revolu- 
tion, so  it  is  in  the  Russian  Revolution.  The  generation  which 
rejected  Jesus  incurred  the  piled-up  vengeance  of  a  thousand 
rebellious  years. 

Abel  to  Zechariah,  covers  the  history  of  the  Old  Testament, 
which  began  with  Genesis  and  ended  with  Chronicles.  The 
difficulty  is  that  Zechariah  in  2  Chron.  xxiv.  20-1  is  not  the  son  of 
Barachiah.  On  the  other  hand,  the  prophet  Zechariah  in  the 
Canon  is  so  designated  (Zech.  i.  1).  It  is  not  necessary  to  com- 
plicate the  interpretation  by  bringing  in  Zechariah  son  of 
Bariscseus,  who  was  killed  by  the  Romans  in  a.d.  67,  a  genera- 
tion later  (Josephus,  Bell.  hid.  iv.  335)  ;  nor  does  it  help,  to  refer 
to  the  tomb  of  Zechariah  with  its  Ionic  pillars  in  the  valley  of 
Jehoshaphat.  The  evangelist,  in  writing  Zechariah,  inadvertently 
slipped  in  '  son  of  Barachiah ',  or  perhaps  a  later  hand  slipped  it  in, 
for  it  is  wanting  in  the  important  uncial  *•?,  and  the  Gospel  of  the 
Hebrews  reads  '  son  of  Jehoiada  '. 


St.  MATTHEW  XXIII.  37-39  209 

I  say  unto  you,  All  these  things  shall  come  upon 
this  generation. 

37  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  which  killeth  the 
prophets,  and  stoneth  them  that  are  sent  unto 
her !  how  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy 
children  together,  even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her 
chickens  under  her  wings,  and  ye  would  not ! 

38  Behold,  your  house  is  left  unto  you  *  desolate.  » Some 
I)  For  I  say  unto  you,  Ye  shall  not  see  me  hence-  authori- 

forth,  till  ye  shall  say,  Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  desolate. 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord. 


36.  Jesus  foresaw  very  clearly  the  tragedy  of  the  fall  of 
Jerusalem  in  a.  d.  70. 

37-9.  The  last  words  of  Jesus  in  the  Temple.  The  name 
Jerusalem  is  here  in  the  Hebrew  form,  as  in  Luke,  but  not 
elsewhere  in  Matthew.  The  tenderness  of  the  address  is  only 
equalled  by  the  certainty  of  the  doom.  This  holy  city,  like  the 
Babylon  of  Revelation,  is  chiefly  distinguished  in  God's  eyes  by 
the  blood  of  prophets  and  saints  that  she  had  shed. 

The  homely  figure  of  the  hen  gathering  her  chickens  under  her 
wing  is  prepared  in  the  constant  usage  of  the  Old  Testament.  But 
in  Deut.  xxxii.  11  the  Lord  is  compared  to  an  eagle.  See  Ruth 
ii.  12,  '  the  Lord,  under  whose  wings  thou  art  come  to  take 
refuge ' ;  so  Ps.  xvii.  8,  xxxvi.  7,  lxi.  4.  lxiii.  7,  xci.  4.  Compare 
how  the  swallow  shelters  in  God  (Ps.  lxxxiv.  4).  See  the 
beautiful  image  in  Isa.  xxxi.  5,  and  finally  the  noble  image  of 
Mai.  iv.  2.  In  Jesus  the  grandeur  of  the  simile  melts  into  home- 
liness, as  becomes  '  the  Son  of  Man  '. 

38.  This  desolation  of  indefinite  prolongation  shows  that  Jesus 
did  not  think  of  His  second  coming  as  following  soon  on  His 
departure. 

your  house,  i.  e.  the  city  itself.  It  is  still  'desolate',  in  spite 
of  the  60,000  obscure  Jews  who  inhabit  it.  They  gather  at  the 
wall  of  wailing  and  lament  its  desolation  continually.  They  have 
not  yet  learnt  to  say  '  Blessed  is  He  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord '.  Will  they  ever  say  it,  or  do  the  words  of  ver.  39  mean 
that  they  will  not  see  Him  henceforth,  because  they  will  never  be 
prepared  with  the  words  of  welcome  ?  Paul  believed  that  the  Jews 
would  be  ingathered  ;  but  the  language  of  Jesus  over  the  city 
which  knew  not  the  day  of  her  visitation  is  more  unrelieved.  We 
know  not  what  the  future  has  in  store,  but  hitherto  the  denuncia- 
tion of  Jesus  seems  to  hold  ;  and  Paul's  optimism  seems  to  be  the 

P 


2io  St.  MATTHEW  XXIV.  1 

And  Jesus  went  out  from  the  temple,  and  24 
was  going  on  his  way ;  and  his  disciples  came 
to  him  to  shew  him  the  buildings  of  the  temple. 

colouring  of  his  own  passionate  patriotism  and  love  of  his  kinsmen 
according  to  the  flesh. 

Ch.  xxiv.  The  Apocalyptic  Discourse. 

The    suggestion    (of  Weizsacker   and   others)    that   a   Jewish 
apocalypse  is  here  introduced  and  modified  in  a  Christian  sense,  is 
incapable  of  proof ;  and  as  it  yields  no  fruit  of  the  Spirit,  it  may 
be  disregarded.    The  undoubted  difficulty  of  the  passage,  however, 
must  be  met,  or  the  mental  confusion  may  destroy  the  religious 
teaching.    The  difficulty  is  this  :  the  Second  Coming  is  announced 
as  within  that  generation  (ver.  34);  for  the  expedient  of  making 
yeved  mean,  not  a  generation,  but  the  Jewish  people,  or  the  human 
race,  is  so  forced  and  improbable,  and  we  may  add  insipid,  that  it 
rather   suggests  doubt    than  strengthens   faith.     There   are   two 
alternatives  for  dealing  with  the  difficulty  ;  either  Jesus  was  mis- 
taken in  forecasting  His  advent  as  near  instead  of  distant,  or  the 
evangelist  is  mistaken  in  the  arrangement  of  the  \6yia  of  the  Lord. 
The  former  alternative  has  been  eagerly  seized  to  illustrate  what 
is  called  the  Kevcuais  of  the  Son  of  God  in  entering  the  world,  and 
to  show  that  during  His  life  Jesus  was  ignorant  of  much  which 
concerned  Himself.     And  certainly  ver.   36  supports  this  view. 
We   certainly   know    that   the   speedy   return   of  the  Lord  was 
expected  in  the  Apostolic  age  (Acts  i.  11,  and  the  earliest  epistles 
of  Paul,  viz.  1  and  2  Thess.).     But  the  delay  in  His  coming  was 
foreshadowed  even  by  Jesus  Himself  (ver.  48).     And  it  presents 
a  very  grave  objection  to  the  foreknowledge  of  the  seer  if  the 
'  these  things '  of  ver.  34  includes  the  parousia  of  ver.  30.     The 
second  alternative,  therefore,  should  be  tried,  and  relied  on,  by 
preference.     It  is  more  probable  that  the  evangelist  made  a  wrong 
arrangement  of  his  material  than  that  Jesus  declared  that  He  would 
come  again  within   that  generation.     We  have  seen  all  through 
the    Gospel   that    Matthew   worked  on   the  principle  of  putting 
together  all  the  material  of  one  kind.     And  it  is  very  likely,  there- 
fore, that  he  would  put  together  in  these  two  chapters  (xxiv  and 
xxv)  all  the  sayings  of  our  Lord  which  forecast  the  future.     The 
comparison  with  Luke  indeed  shows  that  he  has  done  this  ;  for 
what  is  here  given  as  a  single  discourse  is  found  in  fragments 
distributed  over  at  least  three  different  occasions  in  Luke  xii,  xvii, 
and    xxi.       Luke   distinguishes   between    the    prophecy    of    the 
destruction   of  Jerusalem  and  the  prophecy  of  the   end  of  the 
world.     But  in  Matthew  the  two  are  inextricably  intertwined. 
Luke's  distinctness  of    language  in  ch.  xxi  has  led  to  the  con- 
clusion that  when  he  wrote  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  (a.d.  70) 
was  a  fact  of  history,  while  Matthew  was  writing  before  the  event. 
The  clue,  then,  for  interpretation,  is  this  :  Matthew  has  grouped 


St.  MATTHEW  XXIV.  2,  3  211 

a  But  he  answered  and  said  unto  them,  See  ye  not 
all  these  things  ?  verily  I  say  unto  you,  There 
shall  not  be  left  here  one  stone  upon  another, 
that  shall  not  be  thrown  down. 

3      And  as  he  sat  on  the  mount  of  Olives,  the 

1  Gr. 

disciples  came  unto  him  privately,  saying,  Tell  presence. 

us,  when  shall  these  things  be?  and  what  shall  consum- 
be  the  sign  of  thy  doming,  and  of  2  the  end  of  T/'ag"^ 

together  all  the  references  of  Jesus  to  the  future,  which  he  found 
in  his  collection  of  sayings,  with  the  result  that  the  events  of  that 
generation,  culminating  in  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  are  mixed  up 
with  the  things  which  were  to  come  after,  the  return  of  Jesus  and 
the  end  of  the  world.  This  conflation  makes  a  grand  and  impres- 
sive passage  for  our  instruction  and  our  warning  ;  but  it  demands 
a  little  patience  to  disentangle  the  two  strands,  of  which  it  is 
composed,  and  the  frank  recognition  that  the  evangelist  when  he 
wrote  full}'  believed  that  the  Second  Coming  and  the  end  of  all 
things  would  take  place  within  that  generation. 

With  this  proviso  we  may  study  the  discourse  as  it  stands. 

1,  2.  Jesus  went  out  from  the  temple.  He  never  entered  it  again.  As 
He  left  it,  God  departed  from  it,  and  left  it  to  its  appointed  doom. 

The  disciples  might  well  call  attention  to  its  magnificence.  The 
stones  were  in  many  instances  forty  cubits  long  and  the  pillars 
monoliths  twenty-five  cubits  high,  says  Josephus  {Bell.  Iud.  v.  5.  6). 
It  appeared,  as  one  approached  from  a  distance,  like  a  snow  moun- 
tain topped  with  golden  pinnacles.  Complete  as  the  ruin  was,  the 
great  substructures  of  the  Temple  still  stand,  like  a  gigantic  crypt, 
light  and  airy,  solid  as  the  rock.  But,  of  course,  the  building 
itself  disappeared  as  Jesus  foretold. 

3.  The  little  party  crossed  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat  and  sat  on 
the  Mount  of  Olives  looking  back  over  the  city— one  of  the  finest 
sights  in  the  world  even  now. 

privately.  This  is  a  common  phrase  in  Matt.  xiv.  13,  23,  xvii.  1, 
19,  xx.  17.  The  form  of  the  question  shows  that  the  disciples,  and 
therefore  Matthew,  supposed  that  the  destruction  of  the  Temple, 
the  Lord's  coming,  and  the  end  of  the  world,  were  all  closely 
connected  in  time.  The  answering  discourse  reflects  the  mistake 
of  the  question. 

what  shall  be  the  sign  ?  answered  ver.  30. 

coming.  That  is,  parousia  (in  Luke  xxiii.  42  epxtcrOai,1  coming), 

1  A  recognized  Messianic  phrase  derived  from  Mai.  iii.  i,  Zech. 
xiv.  5,  Dan.  vii.  13  (LXX),  cf.o  epxofifvos,  Matt.  xi.  3.  For  Jesus  it 
is  reditus  rather  than  adventus. 

P  2 


212  St.  MATTHEW  XXIV.  4-9 

the  world?     And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  4 
them,  Take  heed  that  no  man  lead  you  astray. 
For  many  shall  come  in  my  name,  saying,  I  am  5 
the  Christ ;  and  shall  lead  many  astray.     And  6 
ye  shall  hear  of  wars  and  rumours  of  wars :  see 
that  ye  be  not  troubled :  for  these  things  must 
needs  come  to  pass  ;  but  the  end  is  not  yet.  For  7 
nation  shall  rise  against  nation,  and  kingdom 
against  kingdom  :  and  there  shall  be  famines 
and  earthquakes  in  divers  places.    But  all  these  8 
things  are  the  beginning  of  travail.     Then  shall  9 
they  deliver  you  up  unto  tribulation,  and  shall 
kill  you  :  and  ye  shall  be  hated  of  all  the  nations 

a  word  used  four  times  in  this  chapter  (ver.  27,  37,  39),  but  not 
elsewhere  in  the  Gospels.  Paul  uses  it  often  (1  Thess.  ii.  19,  &c.)  ; 
so  do  James,  Peter,  and  John.  It  means  '  presence '  rather  than 
coming. 

the  end  of  the  ivorld,  the  phrase  which  Jesus  Himself 
employed  (xiii.  39,  49),  the  conclusion  of  the  current  world  epoch 
^differently  expressed  in  Mark  xiii.  4  ;  Luke  xxi.  7). 

4.  The  danger  of  delusion  on  the  subject  of  prophecy  and  its 
interpretation  occupies  the  Lord's  attention  first  (so  Mark  xiii.  5  ; 
Luke  xxi.  8).  The  warning  against  credulity  precedes  the  call  to 
watchfulness. 

5-14.  ver.  5-8  almost  identical  in  Mark  xiii.  6-9  and  Luke  xxi. 
8-1 1.  The  forecast  of  the  false  Christs  (ver.  24),  like  Simon  the 
son  of  Gioras,  and  John  of  Giscala,  who  appeared  at  the  time  of  the 
fall  of  Jerusalem  and  after,  the  announcement  of  wars  at  hand  and 
at  a  distance,  and  all  the  incidents  of  earthly  calamity,  the  warning 
of  persecution,  already  given  in  the  charge  to  the  Twelve  (x. 
17-22)  ;  the  assurance  that  the  end  is  not  yet  (ver.  6),  but  shall 
come  when  the  Gospel  has  been  preached  to  the  whole  world, 
form  a  clear  and  connected  passage,  distinctly  tracing  the  course 
of  future  events  to  a  distant  end,  far  beyond  the  present  genera- 
tion. 

5.  The  expectation  of  a  Messias  coming  was  the  first  incentive 
to  war  with  Rome,  as  Josephus  shows  {Bell.  hid.  vi.  54). 

9.  deliver  .  .  .  up.  The  word  is  suitable  in  Mark  xiii.  9,  where 
only  Sanhedrims  and  Synagogues  are  in  question,  but  when  the 
more  general  'tribulation'  is  used,  and  the  hatred  of  all  nations 
succeeds  to  the  Jewish  persecution,  the  word  must  be  widened  and 
deepened  in  meaning. 


St.  MATTHEW  XXIV.  10-17  213 

ro  for   my  name's   sake.     And   then   shall    many 
stumble,  and  shall  deliver  up  one  another,  and 

11  shall  hate  one  another.  And  many  false  prophets 

12  shall  arise,  and  shall  lead  many  astray.     And 
because  iniquity  shall  be  multiplied,  the  love  of 

13  the  many  shall  wax  cold.    But  he  that  endureth 

14  to  the  end,  the  same  shall  be  saved.     And  1  this  '  Or,  these 

pood 

gospel  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  preached  in  X\\z* tidings 
whole 2  world  for  a  testimony  unto  all  the  nations ;  -  Gr.  /». 
and  then  shall  the  end  come.  earth. 

15  When  therefore  ye  see  the  abomination  of 
desolation,  which  was  spoken  of  3by  Daniel  the  \°r.    , 

'  /  through 

prophet,  standing  in  4  the  holy  place  (let  him  *  Or,  a 

16  that  readeth  understand),  then  let  them  that  are    toyt>ace 
J7  in  Judaea  flee  unto  the  mountains  :  let  him  that 


10.  stumble,  as  foretold  in  the  parable  (xiii.  21). 
12.  This  chill  of  love  owing  to  the  wide  iniquity  will  continue 
to  the  end  (cf.  Luke  xviii.  8).      Luke  xxi.  18  adds  the  irrelevant 
but  exquisitely  suggestive  promise,  '  not  a  hair  from  your   head 
shall  perish.' 

iniquity,  lit.  lawlessness.  Not  antinomanism,  but  that  general 
moral  decline,  in  which  even  the  good  lose  their  fervour. 

the  love.  This  great  Christian  word  dydmj  occurs  only  here 
in  the  Synoptics  (where  it  '  waxes  cold  '). 

14.  in  the  whole  world.  Explained  by  'into  all  the  nations' 
(Mark  xiii.  10). 

15-28.  The  specific  forecast  of  the  siege  and  fall  of  Jeru- 
salem under  Titus  in  a.  d.  70.  The  accounts  in  Mark  xiii.  14, 
23  ;  Luke  xxi.  20-4  must  be  compared. 

15.  the  abomination.  Dan.  ix.  27,  xi.  31,  xii.  11  :  the  profanation 
of  the  temple  by  Antiochus  Epiphanes.  This  coming  profanation 
was  the  similar  presence  of  the  Roman  standards  in  the  holy 
land. 

let  him  that  readeth  understand.  A  parenthetic  note  made  by 
the  evangelist,  to  call  attention  to  this  new  application  of  the 
words  of  Daniel. 

16.  This  warning  enabled  the  Christians  to  escape  at  the 
beginning  of  the  siege  ;  the}'  took  refuge  in  Pella.  at  the  north 
extremity  of  Perea  (Eusebius,  H.  E.  iii.  5.  3). 


214  St.  MATTHEW  XXIV.  18-23 

is  on  the  housetop  not  go  down  to  take  out  the 
things  that  are  in  his  house :  and  let  him  that  is  18 
in  the  field  not  return  back  to  take  his  cloke. 
*  But  woe  unto  them  that  are  with  child  and  to  19 

them  that  give  suck  in  those  days  !     And  pray  20 
ye  that  your  flight  be  not  in  the  winter,  neither 
on  a  sabbath  :  for  then  shall  be  great  tribulation,  2  r 
such  as  hath  not  been  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world  until  now,  no,  nor  ever  shall  be.     And  22 
except  those  days  had  been  shortened,  no  flesh 
would  have  been  saved :  but  for  the  elect's  sake 
those  days  shall  be  shortened.    Then  if  any  man  23 
shall  say  unto  you,  Lo,  here  is  the  Christ,  or, 

17.  The  haste  is  such  that  the  people  must  come  down  by  the 
outside  staircase,  and  flee  ;  and  the  peasants  in  the  field,  who  to 
this  day  leave  their  outer  garments  in  the  house,  and  work  in 
their  tunics,  must  escape  without  returning  to  the  house. 

19.  The  compassion  of  Jesus  for  the  women  who  cannot  leave 
their  burdens  in  the  house,  but  must  carry  them  in  their  bosoms 
and  flee. 

20.  on  a  sabbath.  Jesus  assumes  that  His  followers  will 
have  the  old  reverence  for  the  day.  Weizsacker  argues  from  this 
that  the  prophecy  is  Jewish  in  origin  ;  he  does  not  allow  for  a 
moment  that  Christ  would  sanction  the  day,  as  He  does  here. 

21.  The  horrible  account  given  by  Josephus  of  the  siege  of 
Jerusalem  fully  justifies  this  strong  language  of  forecast. 

22.  The  language  seems  to  look  beyond  the  siege  of  Jerusalem. 
It  points  to  the  general  principle  that  a  term  is  set  to  the 
calamities  of  men,  on  account  of  the  elect,  i.  e.  not  so  much  in 
answer  to  their  prayers,  but  because  the  purpose  of  history  is  to 
produce  the  chosen  souls,  and  the  calamities  that  befall  mankind 
must  always  come  short  of  complete  destruction. 

shortened:  sc.  by  God  (Mark  xiii.  20). 

the  elect.     Cf.   xxii.    14  ;    a  word  used  much  in  the  Book  of 
Enoch. 

23.  The  pretensions  of  Simon  son  of  Gioras,  and  John  of 
Giscala,  show  how  necessary  it  was  to  forewarn  the  disciples 
against  imposters.  The  parousia  of  Jesus  was  not  to  be  the 
coming  of  a  human  person  again.  He  will  not  be  in  a  particular 
place,  whether  wilderness  or  secret  chamber.  And  indeed  He 
will  not  come  at  the  time  of  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  at  all.  This 
seems  to  be  the  gist  of  the  warning. 


St.  MATTHEW  XXIV.  24-29  215 

34  Here;  believe  lit  not.     For  there  shall  arise  « Or,  him 
false  Christs,  and  false  prophets,  and  shall  shew 
great  signs  and  wonders ;  so  as  to  lead  astray,  if 

25  possible,  even  the  elect.     Behold,  I  have  told 

26  you  beforehand.  If  therefore  they  shall  say  unto 
you,  Behold,  he  is  in  the  wilderness ;  go  not 
forth  :  Behold,   he  is  in  the  inner  chambers ; 

27  believe  2  it  not.     For  as  the  lightning  cometh  2  Or,  them 
forth  from  the  east,  and  is  seen  even  unto  the 

west :  so  shall  be  the 3  coming  of  the  Son  of  man.  'Gr- 

0  presence. 

28  Wheresoever  the  carcase  is,  there  will  the  4  eagles  *  Or, 
be  gathered  together. 

29  But  immediately,  after  the  tribulation  of  those 
days,  the  sun  shall  be  darkened,  and  the  moon 

27.  The  coming  will  be  like  the  great  phenomena  of  nature, 
e.  g.  lightning,  apocalyptic  indeed.  The  meaning  of  the  following 
verse  is  obscure. 

28.  In  Luke  xvii.  37  the  cryptic  saying  is  attached  to  what  is 
here  placed  at  ver.  41.  The  reference  therefore  does  not  seem  to 
be  to  the  Roman  eagles  ;  it  is  rather  a  proverbial  saying  (cf. 
Job  xxxix.  30),  a  brief  and  pregnant  description  of  the  ruin 
of  Jerusalem  :  and  must  be  connected,  not  with  ver.  27,  but  with 
the  whole  passage  ver.  15-27.  It  is  a  familiar  sight  in  the  East, 
the  dead  horse  or  camel  by  the  track,  and  the  wheeling  vultures 
pouncing  on  the  prey  :  so  will  be  Jerusalem,  dead,  devoured  by 
the  eagles. 

29-31.  Regarding  ver.  15-28  as  a  paragraph  complete  in  itself, 
we  may  look  on  this  paragraph  as  also  complete  in  itself,  but  in- 
correctly attached  to  ver.  15-28.  It  might  follow  1-14.  'The  tribula- 
tion of  those  days'  is  not  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  (though  Matthew 
may  have  taken  it  in  that  sense),  but  the  iniquity  and  the  waning 
love  which  precede  the  end  of  the  world. 

29.  immediately.  This  can  only  stand  if  we  do  not  connect  it 
with  verses  15-28.  In  Luke  xxi.  24  the  difficulty  does  not  occur, 
because  the  '  treading  down  of  Jerusalem  until  the  times  of  the 
Gentiles  be  fulfilled'  intervenes  between  the  fall  of  the  city  and 
the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man  (ver.  27). 

The  signs  in  heaven  are  those  familiar  in  apocalyptic  prophecy 
(Isa.  xiii.  9,  xxxiv.  4  ;  Joel  iii.  15).  They  are  probably  to  be 
interpreted  symbolically.  As  we  know,  the  stars  cannot  literally 
fall  from  heaven  (Rev.  vi.   13;    Isa.  xiv.   12).     It  is  a  figure  of 


2l6 


St.  MATTHEW  XXIV.  30-33 


1  Many 
ancient 
authori- 
ties read 
with  a 
great 
trumpet^ 
and  they 
shall 
gather  8fC. 

2  Or,  a 

trumpet 
of  great 
sound 

3  Or,  it 


shall]  not  give  her  light,  and  the  stars  shall  fall 
from  heaven,  and  the  powers  of  the  heavens 
shall  be  shaken :  and  then  shall  appear  the  sign  30 
of  the  Son  of  man  in  heaven  :  and  then  shall  all 
the  tribes  of  the  earth  mourn,  and  they  shall  see 
the  Son  of  man  coming  on  the  clouds  of  heaven 
with  power  and  great  glory.  And  he  shall  send  3* 
forth  his  angels  l  with  2  a  great  sound  of  a 
trumpet,  and  they  shall  gather  together  his  elect 
from  the  four  winds,  from  one  end  of  heaven  to 
the  other. 

Now  from  the  fig  tree  learn  her  parable  :  when  32 
her  branch  is  now  become  tender,  and  putteth 
forth  its  leaves,  ye  know  that  the  summer  is  nigh  • 
even  so  ye  also,  when  ye  see  all  these  things,  33 
know  ye  that  8  he  is  nigh,  even  at  the  doors. 


speech  for  a  revolutionary  change,  and  the  breaking  up  of  the 
most  firmly  established  order. 

30.  the  sign  of  the  Son  of  man,  i.  e.  the  sign  consisting  in  the 
Son  of  Man  appearing  in  heaven.     Here  is  the  answer  to  ver.  3. 

on  the  clouds.     Dan.  vii.  13  (LXX)  indicating  divine  majesty. 
The  mourning  is  explained  in  Rev.  i.  7. 

31.  The  magnificent  triumph  of*  Jesus,  and  the  gathering  of  His 
elect,  put  it  beyond  question  that  He  is  the  Divine  Being.  For 
the  trumpet  see  1  Cor.  xv.  52  ;  1  Thess.  iv.  16.  The  apostles 
accepted  the  image  as  literal.  We  cannot  interpret  it,  until  the 
event  declares  it.  But,  whatever  may  be  the  interpretation  in 
detail,  we  may  cherish  in  our  hearts  this  great  assurance,  that, 
when  the  Gospel  has  been  preached  in  the  whole  world,  for 
a  testimony  unto  the  nations,  the  end  will  come,  and  Christ  will 
appear  to  gather  together  His  own. 

32-4.  These  three  verses  are  connected  with  verses  15-28,  and 
refer  to  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  which  looms  in  the  near  future. 
As  the  season  of  summer  shows  itself  in  the  burgeoning  of  the 
fig-tree,  so  the  apocalyptic  event,  viz.  the  destruction  of  tthe  old 
Judaism,  to  make  way  for  Christianity,  will  be  the  sure  promise 
of  the  summer  season,  the  reign  of  Christ  in  the  affairs  of  men. 

33.  these  things  refer  to  the  events  of  a.  d.  70,   the  war  with 

Rome,  the  siege  and  fall  of  Jerusalem,  the  burning  of  the  Temple. 

he  is  nigh.     This  certainly  means  the  Son  of  Man,  but  equally 


St.  MATTHEW  XXIV.  34-37  217 

34  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  This  generation  shall  not 
pass  away,  till  all  these  things  be  accomplished. 

35  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away,  but  my  words  1  Man>: 

36  shall  not  pass  away.     But  of  that  day  and  hour  ties,  somo 

11  1  1         r  1  ancient, 

knoweth  no  one,  not  even  the  angels  of  heaven,  omit 

neither 

37  1  neither  the  Son,  but  the  Father  only.     And  as  the  Sou. 

certainly  it  does  not  mean  His  coming  as  described  in  ver.  30,  the 
final  advent  which  was  deliberately  disconnected  from  the  fall  of 
Jerusalem  in  ver.  27.  The  final  advent  was  not  to  be  in  a.  d.  70, 
and  yet  in  a  sense  Christ  drew  near,  came  to  the  doors  of  the 
house  of  human  life,  in  that  year.  The  Temple,  God's  house, 
disappeared  ;  the  spiritual  Temple  which  superseded  it  sprang 
from  the  ground. 

34.  In  view  of  this,  Jesus  could  say  that  the  generation  then 
living  would  not  pass  away  until  the  great  reign  of  Christ  should 
begin  ;  within  thirty-five  years,  Judaism  passed  away,  and 
Christianity  began  its  vigorous  life.  *  The  Lord  is  at  hand  '  from 
that  time  forth. 

35-51.  Here  we  pass  again  to  the  final  advent,  which  has  already 
been  referred  to  in  verses  12-14  and  29-31.  The  real  teaching 
of  our  Lord  becomes  plain  if  ver.  35  follows  ver.  31. 

The  assertion  of  His  infallible  word  is  most  unfortunately 
placed  between  the  statement  that  all  would  happen  in  that 
generation,  and  the  statement  that  Jesus  did  not  know  the  time. 
But  the  fault  is  that  of  the  evangelists  (Mark  also  xiii.  30-2. 
We  cannot  doubt  that  when  Jesus  was  speaking  of  the  fall  of 
Jerusalem  He  spoke  in  the  language  of  ver.  34.  But  when  He 
spoke  of  the  far-off,  divine  event  (of  ver.  14),  He  used  the 
language  of  ver.  36.     He  knew  it  would  be,  but  not  when. 

36.  of  that  day  and  hour  knoweth  no  one.  Zech.  xiv.  7  and 
Psalms  of  Solomon  xvii.  23  say  that  only  God  knows  the  time  of 
the  Redemption.  The  Targum  on  Eccl.  vii.  24  affirms  that  the 
mystery  of  the  day  when  the  Anointed  King  comes  is  kept  secret 
from  men. 

For  the  relation  of  Father  and  Son  see  xi.  27. 

It  would  be  a  mistake  to  think  that  this  avowed  ignorance 
of  the  time  of  His  advent  implies  any  limitation  of  Christ's  divine 
nature.  It  only  indicates  the  complete  submission  of  the  Son  to 
the  Father  in  the  bosom  of  Godhead.  What  the  Father  wished 
to  reveal  to  Him  the  Son  received,  and  He  knew  that  He  would 
reveal  all  things  to  Him.  But  when  the  will  of  the  Father  held  back 
any  knowledge  from  Him,  He  showed  His  submission,  and  His 
filial  union  with  the  Father  by  a  cheerful  and  humble  submission. 

It  is  the  most  perfect  illustration  we  possess  of  conformity  to 
the  will  of  God.      Christ  had  no  will  but  the  Father's  ;  when  the 


218  St.  MATTHEW  XXIV.  38-43 

1  Gr.  were  the  days  of  Noah,  so  shall  be  the  '  coming 

of  the  Son  of  man.     For  as  in  those  days  which  38 
were   before   the   flood   they  were  eating  and 
drinking,  marrying  and  giving  in  marriage,  until 
the  day  that  Noah  entered  into  the  ark,  and  they  39 
knew  not  until  the  flood  came,  and  took  them 
all  away ;  so  shall  be  the  '  coming  of  the  Son  of 
man.     Then  shall  two  men  be  in  the  field ;  one  4° 
is  taken,  and  one  is  left :  two  women  shall  be  41 
grinding  at  the  mill ;  one  is  taken,  and  one  is 
left.    Watch  therefore  :  for  ye  know  not  on  what  42 

2  Or,  But    day  your  Lord  cometh.     2  But  know  this,  that  if  43 
know         the  master  of  the  house  had  known  in  what  watch 

Father  willed  to  withhold  from  Him  any  of  His  designs,  His  will 
was  to  be  ignorant. 

37-41  appears  in  Luke  xvii.  26,  27,  30,  34,  35,  in  connexion 
with  the  forecast  of  the  coming  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  He  is 
evidently  not  speaking  of  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  here,  an  event 
which  did  not  come  suddenly  and  unannounced,  but  of  the  coming 
which  would  be  as  the  lightning  (ver.  27). 

37.  The  illustration  of  Noah  shows  that  the  ignorance  is  wilful 
carelessness.  They  might  have  known.  But  they  went  on  as 
usual,  though  Noah  was  building  the  ark  in  their  midst,  until 
the  flood  broke.  The  day  of  the  Lord  will  not  come  unawares 
to  the  faithful  few  who  watch  and  wait  for  it,  but  to  the  indifferent 
world  it  will. 

40.  These  are  proverbial  sayings  (Schott),  to  describe  the 
sudden  dooms  of  human  events.  The  handmill  of  the  East  is 
generally  worked  by  two  women  who  sit  with  it  between  them  ; 
a  close  intimacy  of  life  and  work  ;  but  the  swift  day  of  the  Lord 
will  divide  between  man  and  man,  between  woman  and 
woman. 

42.  Watch.  This  word  like  a  solemn  bell  tolls  through  all  Christ's 
language  about  the  future  (Mark  xiii.  33  ;  Luke  xxi.  36).  We  are  not 
told  to  inquire  or  forecast,  to  conjecture  or  construct.  But  we  are 
to  be  on  the  watch.  Luke  inserts  a  still  more  elaborate  caution. 
Note  the  designation  which  Jesus  gives  Himself:  Your  Lord. 

43-51.  This  is  the  same  discourse  that  Luke  gives  in  the  charge 
to  the  Twelve  (xii.  39-46),  which  may  indicate  how  Matthew 
conflated  sayings  which  bear  on  the  future  from  different  times  of 
the  Lord's  ministry. 

43.  the   master  of  the   house,  not  necessarily  a  large   owner. 


St.  MATTHEW  XXIV.  44-51  219 

the  thief  was  coming,  he  would  have  watched, 
and  would  not  have  suffered  his  house  to  be 

44  ■  broken  through.     Therefore  be  ye  also  ready  :  '  9r-  . 
for  in  an  hour  that  ye  think  not  the  Son  of  man  through. 

45  cometh.     Who  then   is  the   faithful  and   wise 

2  servant,  whom  his  lord  hath  set  over  his  house-  2  Gr- bond- 

servant. 

hold,  to  give  them  their  food  in  due  season? 

46  Blessed  is  that 2  servant,  whom  his  lord  when  he 

47  cometh  shall  find  so  doing.     Verily  I  say  unto 
you,  that  he  will  set  him  over  all  that  he  hath. 

48  But  if  that  evil  2  servant  shall  say  in  his  heart, 

49  My  lord  tarrieth ;  and  shall  begin  to  beat  his 
fellow-servants,  and  shall  eat  and  drink  with  the 

50  drunken ;  the  lord  of  that  2  servant  shall  come 
in  a  day  when  he  expecteth  not,  and  in  an  hour 

51  when   he    knoweth    not,    and   shall   3cut    him  severely 
asunder,  and  appoint  his  portion  with  the  hypo-  ShTmge 


Indeed  it  is  only  a  poor  mud  house  that  can  be  dug  through  by 
a  thief.  We  are  to  think,  therefore,  not  of  great  prelates  and 
saints,  but  of  ordinary  Christians.  Every  Christian  is  so  to  live 
and  work,  that  if  Christ  came  to-day,  there  would  be  no  surprise, 
but  only  the  joyful  greeting.  We  should  expect  nothing  so  much 
any  day  as  we  expect  Christ's  coming  every  da}'.  That  is  the 
secret  of  a  true  Christian  life. 

45.  From  Luke  xii.  -41  it  is  clear  that  these  words  apply 
specially  to  those  who  are  entrusted  with  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel  and  the  rule  of  the  Church. 

47.  Each  faithful  servant  can  be  set  over  all  that  God  has  in  the 
Spiritual  Kingdom  :  for  it  is  not  authority  exercised,  but  inner 
fitness,  that  constitutes  the  order  of  eternity. 

48.  Here  the  judgement  on  the  unfaithful  minister  assumes  that 
there  may  be  a  delay  in  the  coming  of  the  Lord.  It  is  obvious  how 
much  more  suitable  the  language  is  to  the  ordaining  of  the  Twelve 
than  to  the  apocalypse  of  Matthew. 

51.  shall  cat  him  asunder.  A  strong  word,  in  Luke  xii.  46,  as 
well  as  here.  There  is  no  reason  for  toning  it  down  as  in  the 
margin  of  R.  V. 

his  portion ,  Rev.  xx.  6. 


220  St.  MATTHEW  XXV.  1 

crites  :  there  shall  be  the  weeping  and  gnashing 
of  teeth. 

Then  shall  the  kingdom  of  heaven  be  likened  25 
*  torches       unto  ten  virgins,  which  took  their  ■  lamps,  and 

hypocrites.  In  Luke  '  the  unfaithful »  or  •  unbelieving'.  The 
closing  words  recall  viii.  12  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 

Ch.  xxv.  The  Coming  of  the  Son  of  Man. 

This  wonderful  group  of  parables,  or  pictures — the  Ten 
Virgins,  the  Talents,  the  Sheep  and  the  Goats  — will  account 
for  the  prominent  place  which  the  Second  Advent  occupied  in 
the  Early  Church.  These  words,  which  demand  Vigilance, 
Fidelity,  and  practical  Service,  enforced  by  the  thought  of  the 
returning  Lord,  not  only  reverberate  through  the  New  Testament, 
but  determined  the  character  of  Christianity.  Christians  are  men 
who  '  serve  a  living  and  true  God,  and  wait  for  His  Son  from 
heaven  '  (1  Thess.  i.  9,  10).  They  may  be  defined  as  'they  that 
have  loved  His  appearing '  (2  Tim.  iv.  8).  They  are  always 
'  waiting  for  Him  '  ^Heb.  ix.  28).  '  Till  I  come  '  was  impressed  on 
every  believer  (Luke  xix.  13  :  cf.  1  Cor.  xi.  26).  And  through  this 
discourse  and  the  echoes  of  it  in  the  New  Testament  the  attitude 
has  been  preserved  to  this  day.  Whatever  may  be  our  conceptions 
of  His  coming,  we  who  believe  in  Him  are  like  unto  them  who 
wait  for  their  Lord.  We  may  speculate  what  will  be  the  manner 
of  the  appearing,  whether  we  shall  be  of  the  number  who  survive 
when  He  comes,  or  shall  be  overtaken  by  death,  the  common 
Parousia,  but  we  are  kept  in  the  attitude  of  expectation.  In  some 
way  or  other  He  will  come.  We  therefore  must  have  our  lamps 
read}',  with  oil  for  the  supply  ;  we  must  be  employing  our  talents 
that  we  may  hear  His  '  Well  done '  ;  we  must  minister  to  the 
hungry,  the  naked,  the  stranger,  the  prisoner,  because,  in  doing  it 
to  them,  we  do  it  to  Him. 

It  should  be  noted  how  the  three  pictures  confirm  our  interpre- 
tation of  ch.  xxiv,  and  show  that  our  Lord  did  not  lead  us  to  expect 
an  immediate  return  (xxiv.  13,  14,  48,  are  echoed  in  xxv.  5,  15). 
And  if  the  expectation  of  a  speedy  return  was  awakened  in  the 
early  Church,  the  apostles  had  the  light  of  the  spirit  to  correct  it. 
(Acts  iii.  21  and  2  Thess.  ii.  2).  We  may  surmise  that  the 
erroneous  expectation  arose  entirely  from  confusing  the  Parousia 
of  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  with  the  final  Parousia  ;  and  when  the 
former  happened  and  passed,  and  the  Parousia  had  not  been 
realized,  the  Church  gradually  settled  down  to  the  long  and 
patient  waiting  in  which  she  is  still  engaged. 

It  is  yet  the  night,  but  the  Bridegroom  will  come.  The  Lord 
is  yet  in  another  country,  but  He  will  return.  The  throne  of  His 
glory  is  not  yet  set,  but  He  will  sit  on  it,  and  all  nations  shall  be 
gathered  before  Him. 


St.  MATTHEW  XXV.  2-6  221 

a  went  forth  to  meet  the  bridegroom.   And  five  of 

3  them  were  foolish,  and  five  were  wise.     For  the 
foolish,  when  they  took  their  '  lamps,  took  no  «  or, 

4  oil  with  them  :   but  the  wise  took  oil   in  their  tor 

5  vessels  with  their  1  lamps.    Now  while  the  bride- 

6  groom  tarried,  they  all  slumbered  and  slept.  But 


1-12.  The  Ten  Virgins.  The  custom  which  forms  the  mise-en- 
scene  of  the  parable  is  given  in  Judges  xiv.  10,  where  Samson  goes 
down  to  claim  his  bride.  The  virgins  are  the  bridal  train  who 
watch  for  the  bridegroom's  arrival  on  his  return  to  his  house  with 
the  bride.  He  would  naturally  come  in  the  early  evening ;  but 
He  is  detained  till  midnight,  and  the  lamps  therefore  burn  low 
and  need  replenishing.  The  Bridal  Feast  is  illustrated  by  the 
story  of  Samson,  except  that  there  only  the  companions  of  the 
bridegroom  are  mentioned.  Here  the  companions  of  the  bride 
are  brought  into  prominence.  For  the  purpose  of  the  illustra- 
tion it  is  not  necr  ■  y  to  mention  the  bride.  The  beautiful 
story  is  only  found  ..1  Mark  (xiii.  35 ),  and  Luke  'vxii.  35  ;  xiii.  25) 
germinally.  We  must  be  thankful  lor  those  Logia  which  Matthew 
alone  has  preserved  for  us.  And  this  chapter,  next  to  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount,  is  the  most  precious  of  the  Logia. 

1.  to  meet  the  bridegroom,  'and  the  bride,'  adds  D,  and  some 
cursives.  But  of  course  the  addition  is  mal-a-propos.  The  bride 
is  in  the  house,  the  maidens  issue  forth  on  the  road  to  meet  and 
accompany  the  bridegroom  in.  The  lamp  is  rather  a  torch  ; 
probably  a  dish  of  oil  with  a  wick  in  it  carried  on  the  top  of  a 
staff. 

2.  Wise  and  foolish,  not  good  and  bad,  exactly  as  in  the 
builders  (vii.  25-27).  They  are  all  Christians,  but  some  are  true 
Christians  and  others  are  not.  All  have  lamps,  i.  e.  make  the 
Christian  profession,  and  apparently  welcome  Christ.  All  would 
be  ready,  if  there  were  no  delay.     The  tarrying  tests  them. 

4.  The  meaning  of  the  oil  is  manifest  from  the  frequent  occur- 
rence of  the  image  in  Scripture.  It  represents  the  reality  of  a 
living  religion  produced  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  This  is  plain  in  the 
symbol  of  Ex.  xxx.  23-25,  30,  and  Ps.  xlv.  7.  The  interpretation 
is  given  in  Zech.  iv.  It  symbolizes  the  Spirit  not  given  by  measure 
(John  iii.  34.;,  the  Spirit  of  Christ  (Rom.  viii.  9),  the  holy  unction 
(1  John  ii.  27). 

We  must  avoid  fanciful  allegorizing  like  Chrysostom's,  who 
thought  that  the  lamps  signified  virginity,  but  the  oil  the  pity,  so 
often  wanting  in  religious  devotees  who  adopt  the  celibate 
life. 

5.  slumbered  (i.  e.  nodded)  and  slept,  as  was  natural  and  even 


torches 


222  St.  MATTHEW  XXV.  7-12 

at  midnight  there  is  a  cry,  Behold,  the  bride- 
groom !    Come  ye  forth  to  meet  him.     Then  all  7 
1  or,  those  virgins  arose,  and  trimmed  their  '  lamps. 

And  the  foolish  said  unto  the  wise,  Give  us  of  8 
your  oil ;  for  our  1  lamps  are  going  out.    But  the  9 
wise  answered,  saying,  Peradventure  there  will 
not  be  enough  for  us  and  you  :  go  ye  rather  to 
them  that  sell,  and  buy  for  yourselves.     And  10 
while  they  went  away  to  buy,  the  bridegroom 
came ;  and  they  that  were  ready  went  in  with 
him  to  the  marriage  feast :  and  the  door  was 
shut.     Afterward  come  also  the  other  virgins,  n 
saying,  Lord,  Lord,  open  to  us.    But  he  answered  12 


proper,  always  provided  that  their  lamps  *v  re  ready  when  the 
cry  should  come.  The  detail  is  not,  therefore,  meant  to  show  that 
at  His  coming  He  will  find  all  His  Church  asleep  (like  the  question 
in  Luke  xviii.  8),  but  only  that  among  the  members  of  His  Church, 
who  seem  alike,  a  startling  cleavage  will  be  revealed. 

6.  At  midnight,  six  hours  later  than  He  was  expected  !  Thus 
Christ  intimated  that  His  Parousia  would  surprise  the  world  when 
from  the  long  delay  men  had  almost  concluded  that  it  would  not 
be  at  all.  St.  Paul  remembered  this  when  he  said  that  the  Lord 
would  come  as  a  thief  in  the  night  (1  Thess.  v.  2)  ;  it  is  strange 
he  did  not  say,  '  as  a  bridegroom.' 

8.  It  is  the  sorrowful  truth  that  in  the  grace  of  inward 
preparedness  each  must  stand  alone  ;  the  goodness  of  another 
does  not  avail  ;  *  let  each  man  prove  his  own  work,  and  then 
shall  he  have  his  glorying  in  respect  of  himself  alone,  and  not  of 
his  neighbour.     For  each  man  shall  bear  his  own  burden  '  (Gal.  vi. 

4,  5).  .     , 

9.  buy  for  yourselves.      The    image    is   from    Prov.    xxin.    23. 

There  was  no  question  about  the  ability  to  buy  ;  for  the  oil  is 
without  money  and  without  price  (Is.  lv.  1  ;  Rev.  hi.  18).  The 
only  drawback  was  the  want  of  time.     It  was  too  late. 

10.  There  is  a  clang  of  doom  in  '  the  door  was  shut '.  Christ 
never  shrinks  from  stating  this  inevitable  fact.  If  we  do  not 
preach  it,  let  us  learn  it. 

11.  Lord,  Lord.  The  interpretation  looks  through  the  veil  of 
the  parable.  It  is  no  common  bridegroom,  but  the  Lord  from 
heaven,  who  says  to  them  '  I  know  you  not  \  In  Rev.  xix.  8,  our 
eyes  are  turned  to  the  bride,  in   'fine  linen,  bright  and  pure'. 


St.  MATTHEW  XXV.  13-18  223 

and  said,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  I  know  you  not. 

13  Watch  therefore,  for  ye  know  not  the  day  nor 
the  hour. 

14  For  it  is  as  when  a  man,  going  into  another 
country,  called  his  own  *  servants,  and  delivered  ' Gr- 

15  unto  them  his  goods.     And  unto  one  he  gave  servants. 
five  talents,  to  another  two,  to  another  one ;  to 

each  according  to  his  several  ability ;  and  he  went 

16  on  his  journey.    Straightway  he  that  received  the 
five  talents  went  and  traded  with  them,  and  made 

1 7  other  five  talents.     In  like  manner  he  also  that 

18  received  the  two  gained  other  two.     But  he  that 
received  the  one  went  away  and  digged  in  the 


But  the  truth  is  the  same,  '  for  the  fine  linen  is  the  righteous  acts 
of  the  saints.' 

13.  Again  clangs  the  great  warning  bell,  as  in  xxiv.  42. 
14-30.  The  Talents.    An  oriental  potentate  puts  into  authority, 

not  relatives  or  friends,  which  would  be  dangerous,  but  his  slaves. 
The  similar  parable  of  the  Pounds  in  Luke  xix.  n  occurs  in  another 
connexion  ;  but  in  each  case  the  men  entrusted  with  the  money 
are  'slaves'.  Again  the  delay  of  the  Parousia  is  emphasized 
(ver.  19).  Weiss  and  Wendt  think  that  the  parable  does  not 
properly  belong  to  the  Parousia  group.  But  it  is  a  necessary 
supplement  to  the  Virgins  ;  there  the  idea  was  only  that  of  luait- 
ing,  here  it  is  that  of  working  ;  there  attention  was  directed  to  the 
inward  spiritual  life,  here  to  external  activit}'.  Expectant  of  our 
Lord,  we  are  not  to  be  slumbering  and  sleeping,  but  employing  the 
talents  which  He  has  given  us  to  use. 

14.  slaves.  Paul  delights  to  adopt  the  designation  (Rom.  i.  1  ; 
1  Cor.  vii.  22  ;  2  Cor.  x.  7  ;  Gal.  i.  10  ;  Eph.  vi.  6;  Phil.  i.  1  ; 
Col.  iv.  12  ;  Tit.  i.  1)  ;  so  does  James  (J as.  i.  1),  so  does  Peter 
(1  Pet.  ii.  16  ;  2  Pet.  i.  1),  so  does  Jude  (i.  1),  so  does  John 
(Rev.  i.  1,  xix.  5,  xxii.  3,  &c).  It  is  as  honourable  to  be  the 
slaves  of  Christ  as  it  is  degrading  to  be  the  slaves  of  men,  or  of  our 
lower  selves. 

15.  The  slaves  are  greatly  trusted.  The  lowest  receives  ^240. 
As  each  received  according  to  his  ability,  he  was  required  only 
to  be  faithful.     The  reward  would  be  a  responsibility  doubled. 

18.  The  slave  with  one  talent  was  not  dishonest ;  he  is  not 
charged  with  indolence  ;  he  is  disaffected.  He  misjudges  the 
Lord.     He  is  the  churl,  unworthy  of  enfranchisement. 


224 


St.  MATTHEW  XXV.  19-24 


»  Gr. 

bond- 
servants. 


2Gr. 

bond- 
servant. 


earth,  and  hid  his  lord's  money.     Now  after  a  19 
long  time  the  lord  of  those  Servants  cometh, 
and  maketh  a  reckoning  with  them.     And  he  20 
that  received  the  five  talents  came  and  brought 
other  five  talents,  saying,  Lord,  thou  deliveredst 
unto  me  five  talents :  lo,  I  have  gained  other 
five  talents.    His  lord  said  unto  him,  Well  done,  2 1 
good  and  faithful 2  servant :  thou  hast  been  faith- 
ful over  a  few  things,  I  will  set  thee  over  many 
things  :  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  lord.    And  22 
he  also  that  received  the  two  talents  came  and 
said,  Lord,  thou  deliveredst  unto  me  two  talents  : 
lo,  I  have  gained  other  two  talents.     His  lord  23 
said  unto  him,  Well  done,  good  and  faithful 
2  servant ;  thou  hast  been  faithful  over  a  few 
things,  I  will  set  thee  over  many  things  :  enter 
thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  lord.     And  he  also  that  34 
had  received  the  one  talent  came  and  said,  Lord, 
I  knew  thee  that  thou  art  a  hard  man,  reaping 
where  thou  didst  not  sow,  and  gathering  where 


19.  after  a  long  time.  In  Luke,  he  had  '  received  a  kingdom  ', 
and  the  reward  is  cities  to  govern,  not  merely  things  to  manage 
ixix.  15). 

20.  The  two  first  slaves  have  boldness  in  the  day  of  judgement 
(1  John  iv.  17,  ii.  28).  It  is  the  holy  unction  which  gives  this 
boldness  before  Him  at  His  coming  (1  John  ii.  22).  It  is  not  the 
merit  of  the  works,  but  the  Tightness  of  the  heart  with  God. 
After  all  it  is  only  putting  out  the  money  to  the  bankers  (v.  27) 
that  is  required,  the  humble  readiness  to  be  used,  and  to  let  God 
work  in  us  to  will  and  to  do. 

21.  the  joy  of  thy  lord,  is  perhaps  the  Feast  of  Gladness  : 
a  feast  is  called  a  joy  in  Hebrew  (cf.  Esther  ix.  17;  2  Chron. 
xxx.  23  ;  Neh.  xii.  27  ;  Luke  xii.  19).  But  the  joy  meant  is 
Christ's,  that  which  He  has,  and  gives  (John  xv.  11  ;  Heb. 
xii.  2). 

24.  This  hard  thought  concerning  the  Lord  is  very  common. 
But  the  action  which  results  from  the  thought  is  illogical  (v.  27). 


St.  MATTHEW  XXV.  25-31  225 

35  thou  didst  not  scatter:  and  I  was  afraid,  and 
went  away  and  hid  thy  talent  in  the  earth :  lo, 

26  thou  hast  thine  own.  But  his  lord  answered 
and  said  unto  him,  Thou  wicked  and  slothful 

1  servant,  thou  knewest  that  I  reap  where  I  sowed  '  Gr.  bond- 

t     i-  1  1  servant. 

27  not,  and  gather  where  I  did  not  scatter;  thou 
oughtest  therefore  to  have  put  my  money  to 
the  bankers,  and  at  my  coming  I  should  have 

28  received  back  mine  own  with  interest.  Take  ye 
away  therefore  the  talent  from  him,  and  give  it 

29  unto  him  that  hath  the  ten  talents.  For  unto 
every  one  that  hath  shall  be  given,  and  he  shall 
have  abundance :  but  from  him  that  hath  not, 
even  that  which  he  hath  shall  be  taken  away. 

30  And  cast  ye  out  the  unprofitable  ]  servant  into 
the  outer  darkness :  there  shall  be  the  weeping 
and  gnashing  of  teeth. 

31  But  when  the  Son  of  man  shall  come  in  his 
glory,  and  all  the  angels  with  him,  then  shall  he 


28.  Here  is  a  law  illustrated  everywhere  in  experience.  The 
capable  and  the  trustworthy  receive  what  the  churlish,  sluggish, 
and  incapable  misuse.  That  the  law  holds  in  the  world  beyond, 
is  certainly  implied,  though  it  may  only  be  part  of  the  dressing  of 
the  parable  (Mark  iv.  25  ;  Luke  xix.  25). 

30.  This  verse  seems  an  echo  of  xiii.  42,  xxii.  13.  It  favours 
the  idea  that  'the  joy  of  the  Lord'  (ver.  21)  is  conceived  as  the 
banquet-hall. 

31-46.  The  Sheep  and  the  Goats.  This  passage  is  not  a 
parable,  but  a  definite  and  clear  forecast  of  the  judgement.  The 
separation  of  the  sheep  and  the  goats  is  only  an  illustration  which 
appears  in  ver.  32,  33  and  disappears  after.  In  Luke  xiii.  25-8 
there  is  a  faint  suggestion  of  this  part  of  the  chapter,  as  of  the 
earlier  part ;  but  the  whole  is  distinctively  Matthew's.  But  for 
the  first  evangelist  we  should  have  had  little  idea  of  the  final 
judgement.  Most  of  the  references  in  the  New  Testament  to  this 
great  event  are  evidently  based  upon  this  Logion  of  the  Lord. 
See  especially  Rom.  ii.  16 ;  Jas.  ii.  13 ;  2  Thess.  i.  7,  ii.  1  ; 
1  Cor.  i.  8  ;   2  Cor.  v.  10  ;  Rev.  xx.  12.     It  is  peculiarly  important, 

Q 


2*6  St.  MATTHEW  XXV.  32-34 

sit  on  the  throne  of  his  glory :  and  before  him  32 
shall  be  gathered  all  the  nations :  and  he  shall 
separate  them  one  from  another,  as  the  shepherd 
1  Gr.  kids,  separateth  the  sheep  from  the  !  goats  :  and  he  33 
shall  set  the  sheep  on  his  right  hand,  but  the 
1  goats  on  the  left.     Then  shall  the  King  say  34 
unto  them  on  his  right  hand,  Come,  ye  blessed 

therefore,  to  study  closely  this  important  prophecy.  When 
Jesus  describes  Himself  as  the  Judge  of  the  whole  world,  whose 
word  decides  salvation  or  perdition  (see  John  xi.  1-5 ;  2  Thess. 
ii.  8),  He  leaves  no  doubt  in  our  minds  as  to  His  claim  to  Divinity. 
The  judge  of  all  the  earth  must  be  God. 

31.  This  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man  has  been  already  foretold 
in  xvi.  27,  28.  The  accompanying  angels  remind  us  of  Zech. 
xiv.  5  nal  i]£ei  Kvpios  b  0eds  f*ov,  nal  iravres  oi  ayioi  /act'  airov 
(LXX).  See  also  Deut.  xxxiii.  2 ;  Dan.  vii.  9,  10.  It  is  pointed 
out  by  Dr.  Wright  (Synopsis  of  the  Gospels  in  Greek,  p.  239)  that 
the  sentences  are  arranged  in  the  form  of  Hebrew  poetry.  He, 
however,  inclines  to  the  view  that  the  poetical  form  is  due,  not  to 
our  Lord,  but  to  the  early  Church,  which  speaking  in  psalms, 
hymns,  and  spiritual  songs,  versified  the  Lord's  teaching  about 
the  judgement,  and  the  verse  form  was  inserted  in  the  Gospel 
narrative.  If  this  be  so,  we  have  here  a  more  primitive  Dies  Irae, 
as  it  was  sung  in  the  first  age  of  Christianity. 

32.  all  the  nations.  Commentators  discuss  whether  the  scene 
describes  the  judgement  of  all  mankind,  or  only  that  of  the 
disciples  of  Jesus.  Wellhausen  thinks  that  it  is  only  the  judgement 
of  disciples ;  the  orthodox  interpreters  (and  so  Wendt)  rather 
incline  to  make  it  the  judgement  of  all  except  the  disciples  !  But 
perhaps  the  solution  of  the  difficulty  is  to  be  found  in  xxiv.  14 ; 
the  standpoint  of  this  prophecy  is,  that  the  Gospel  has  now  been 
preached  in  the  whole  world  for  a  testimony  unto  all  the  nations, 
and  now  all  the  nations  are  gathered  for  judgement. 

33.  Tristram  and  Fiirrer  both  remark  that,  while  sheep  and 
goats  often  browse  together,  at  the  time  of  folding  they  separate 
into  two  flocks  of  their  own  accord.  The  segregation  of  the  last 
judgement,  on  the  principle  of  like  to  like,  will  perhaps  be 
automatic. 

34.  Jesus  calls  Himself  King ;  and  this  is  the  more  striking 
when  He  is  under  the  shadow  of  His  approaching  humiliation  and 
death. 

inherit.  This  is  very  beautiful.  They  who  have  a  right 
thereto  acquire  the  theocracy  as  a  possession  (cf.  1  Cor.  vi.  9, 
xv.  50  ;  Gal.  v.  21),  just  as  David  received  as  a  possession  the 
throne  of  an  eternal  sovereignty  (1  Mace.  ii.  57). 


St.  MATTHEW  XXV.  35-42  227 

of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for 

35  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world  :  for  I  was 
an  hungred,  and  ye  gave  me  meat :  I  was  thirsty, 
and  ye  gave  me  drink  :  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye 

36  took  me  in ;  naked,  and  ye  clothed  me :  I  was 
sick,  and  ye  visited  me  :  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye 

37  came  unto  me.  Then  shall  the  righteous  answer 
him,  saying,  Lord,  when  saw  we  thee  an  hungred, 
and  fed  thee?  or  athirst,  and  gave  thee  drink? 

38  And  when  saw  we  thee  a  stranger,  and  took  thee 

39  in  ?  or  naked,  and  clothed  thee  ?  And  when 
saw  we  thee  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  came  unto 

40  thee  ?  And  the  King  shall  answer  and  say  unto 
them,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Inasmuch  as  ye  did 
it  unto  one  of  these  my  brethren,  even  these 

41  least,  ye  did  it  unto  me.    Then  shall  he  say  also 

unto  them  on  the  left  hand,  *  Depart  from  me,  ye  JfiL^ 
cursed,  into  the  eternal  fire  which  is  prepared  for  f*'0"1  "lc 

1  x       x  under  a 

42  the  devil  and  his  angels :  for  I  was  an  hungred,  cmrm 


from  the  foundation  of  the  world :  xiii.  35.  This  is  what  is 
meant  by  the  predestination  to  life  ;  they  are  not^  individually 
chosen  to  life,  but  the  thought  of  God  from  the  beginning  looked 
towards  those  who  by  such  conduct  would  inherit  such  a  reward. 

35.  For  'taking  in'  cf.  Judges  xix.  18. 

36.  The  ministry  is  not  always  to  release  ;  it  is  sometimes 
only  to  sympathize.  For  Scriptural  illustrations  of  the  conduct 
which  is  commended,  see  Exod.  ii.  11;  1  Kings  xvii.  10-15; 
Jer.  xxx.  7-13  ;  Acts  xvi.  15 ;  2  Tim.  i.  16. 

visited  we.  It  is  the  verb  which  in  the  nominal  form  is 
'bishop  \  Is  this  the  episcopal  function  in  the  thought  of  Jesus — 
to  visit  the  sick  ? 

39.  We  can  only  suppose  that  Christ  regards  all  men  as 
brethren,  and  therefore  all  human  service  as  done  to  Him.  It  is 
thus  quite  intelligible  that  these  philanthropists  did  not  under- 
stand how  they  were  serving  Christ. 

41.  The  people  who  have  neglected  their  fellows  are  equally 
amazed  to  find  that  they  have  neglected  the  King.  As  the  good 
served  others  without  thought  of  Christ,  these  others  would,  as 

Q  2 


228  St.  MATTHEW  XXV.  43-46 

and  ye  gave  me  no  meat :  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye 
gave  me  no  drink  :  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  43 
me  not  in ;  naked,  and  ye  clothed  me  not ;  sick, 
and  in  prison,  and  ye  visited  me  not.     Then  44 
shall  they  also  answer,  saying,  Lord,  when  saw 
we  thee  an  hungred,  or  athirst,  or  a  stranger,  or 
naked,  or  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  did  not  minister 
unto  thee  ?    Then  shall  he  answer  them,  saying,  45 
Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not 
unto  one  of  these  least,  ye  did  it  not  unto  me. 
And  these  shall  go  away  into  eternal  punishment :  46 
but  the  righteous  into  eternal  life. 


sycophants,  have  done  the  like,  if  they  had  known  that  so  power- 
ful a  King  was  being  served.  This  veiling  of  the  ultimate 
significance  of  actions  is  necessary,  that  their  quality  may  be 
revealed. 

46.  The  form  of  judgement  echoes  Dan.  xii.  2  (LXX).  We 
have  seen  how  Jesus  uses  the  language  of  punishment  familiar  to 
His  contemporaries  (xiii.  42),  and  thus  the  old  phraseology  passed 
into  Christian  teaching  (2  Thess.  i.  9). 

But  this  is  not  an  original  element  in  the  teaching  of  Christ, 
and  it  is  a  mistake  to  lay  stress  on  it  as  if  it  were.  The  meaning 
of  punishment  is  illustrated  by  the  use  of  the  same  word  nuXaais 
in  1  John  iv.  18.  The  word  '  eternal '  does  not  fix  the  duration 
of  either  the  punishment  or  the  life.  It  only  means  that  both 
punishment  and  life  go  on  beyond  this  aeon  (' world'  as  it  is 
usually  translated),  into  the  aeons  (worlds)  unknown. 

The  life  eternal  is  a  status  to  which  men  attain.  In  xviii.  18,  it 
means  participation  in  the  theocracy;  the  eternal  punishment  con- 
sists in  missing  the  theocracy.  The  elements  of  originality  and 
revelation,  therefore,  in  this  prophecy,  are  not  the  judgement, 
nor  the  separation  of  the  good  from  the  bad,  nor  the  aeonian 
punishment  and  life  ;  all  these  occur  in  the  Old  Testament,  and 
are  part  of  the  familiar  religious  apparatus  of  the  time,  which 
Jesus  used,  as  always,  in  order  to  be  intelligible  to  the  men  whom 
He  addressed ;  but  the  elements  of  originality,  the  truth  which 
Jesus  reveals  to  His  disciples  in  the  last  days  of  His  life,  under 
the  shadow  of  the  cross,  lies  in  the  conceptions  of  the  theocracy, 
the  reign  and  righteousness  of  God,  viz.  :  (1)  that  all  actions  of 
men  to  men  will  be  interpreted  as  actions  done  to  Jesus,  and 
(2)  that  the  judgement  will  turn  upon  the  goodness  or  the  neglect 


St.  MATTHEW  XXVI.  1-5  229 

26      And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jesus  had  finished 

a  all  these  words,  he  said  unto  his  disciples,  Ye 

know  that  after  two  days  the  passover  cometh, 

and  the  Son  of  man  is  delivered  up  to  be  cruci- 

3  fied.  Then  were  gathered  together  the  chief 
priests,  and  the  elders  of  the  people,  unto  the 
court  of  the  high  priest,  who  was  called  Caiaphas  ; 

4  and  they  took  counsel  together  that  they  might 

5  take  Jesus  by  subtilty,  and  kill  him.  But  they 
said,  Not  during  the  feast,  lest  a  tumult  arise 
among  the  people. 


with  which  we  treat  our  fellows.  It  is  a  pity  that  this  all-important 
teaching  should  be  obscured  by  profitless  discussions  about  the 
eternity  of  future  punishment. 

Ch.  xxvi.  1-56.     Deserted. 

This  section  presents  us  with  the  soirowful  spectacle  of  our 
Lord,  not  only  persecuted  by  the  religious  leaders  of  His  people, 
but  betrayed  by  one,  and  deserted  b}'  all,  of  His  own  chosen 
disciples. 

1-16.  In  this  dark  night  of  betrayal  and  forsaking  there  is 
a  solitary  ray  of  light  ;  it  is  the  loyalty  and  love  of  a  woman, 
who  stands  in  extraordinary  contrast  with  the  men  whom  Jesus 
had  loved  and  taught  and  trained.  Her  sweet  tribute  is  grudged 
by  them.  But  the  deed  of  love  holds  the  future,  and  becomes 
eternal  as  the  Gospel  itself. 

1.  these  words,  sc.  the  parabolic  discourse  concerning  the  end 
of  the  world. 

2.  Here  Matthew  is  much  more  full  than  the  corresponding 
passage  in  Mark  (xiv.  1)  and  Luke  (Luke  xxii.  1,  2).  He 
introduces  this  final  announcement  of  the  approaching  death. 
Jesus  Himself,  as  it  were,  announces  that  He  is  passing  from  the 
Prophetical  to  the  Priestly  office.  And  the  singular  fact  is 
brought  out  that  His  voluntary  sacrificial  offering  is  accomplished 
by  the  unconscious  hands  of  the  High  Priest  and  his  associates. 

3.  Caiaphas  was,  we  learn  from  Josephus  {Aniiq.  xviii.  2.  2, 
4.  3),  high  priest  for  seventeen  years. 

5.  We  learn  from  Josephus  also  that  there  would  be  as  many 
as  2,700,000  people  in  Jerusalem  at  the  time  of  Passover.  As 
many  of  thtse  had  heard,  and  been  healed  by,  Jesus  in  Galilee, 
there  was  great  danger  that  an  attack  on  Him  might  occasion 
a  serious  entente.  Since  the  authorities  themselves  were  under 
the  authority  of  the  Romans,  they  sought  their  end  by  guile. 


23o  St.  MATTHEW  XXVI.  6-11 

Now  when  Jesus  was  in  Bethany,  in  the  house  6 
of  Simon  the  leper,  there  came  unto  him  a  woman  7 
1  or,  having *  an  alabaster  cruse  of  exceeding  precious 

a  flask       0intment,  and  she  poured  it  upon  his  head,  as 
he  sat  at  meat.     But  when  the  disciples  saw  it,  8 
they  had  indignation,  saying,  To  what  purpose 
is  this  waste  ?   For  this  ointment  might  have  been  9 
sold  for  much,  and  given  to  the  poor.    But  Jesus  10 
perceiving  it  said  unto  them,  Why  trouble  ye  the 
woman  ?  for  she  hath  wrought  a  good  work  upon 
me.    For  ye  have  the  poor  always  with  you  ;  but  T* 

6-13.  This  paragraph  carries  us  back  four  days,  if  the  Fourth 
Gospel  may  be  taken  to  supplement  and  correct  the  Synoptics. 
It  was,  according  to  John,  six  days  before  the  Passover  (xii.  1)  ; 
but  the  previous  discourse  was  two  days  before  the  Passover 
(ver.  2).  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  think  of  two  suppers  and 
two  anointings,  to  evade  the  discrepancy  :  but  the  similar  narra- 
tive in  Luke  vii.  36-40  must  refer  to  another  occasion. 

Was  Simon  the  man  who  was  healed  in  Matt.  viii.  1-4  ?  And 
did  he  in  his  gratitude  wish  to  be  known  in  the  circle  of  disciples 
as  'the  Leper'?  Lazarus  who  had  been  raised  from  the  dead 
was  also  a  guest  (John  xii.  2). 

7.  The  woman  was  Mary  of  Bethanj',  says  John  (xii.  3).  The 
'alabaster  cruse  of  ointment'  was  one  of  the  five  precious  gifts 
sent  to  the  Ethiopian  king  by  Cambyses  (Herod,  iii.  20).  The 
value  is  roughly  estimated  by  the  disciples  at  nine  or  ten  pounds. 
According  to  Mark,  she  broke  the  alabaster.  In  John  she  pours 
it  only  on  His  feet. 

8.  John  saves  the  reputation  of  the  Twelve  by  saying  that  it 
was  only  Judas  Iscariot  who  grudged  the  gift  (xii.  4),  and  Mark 
avoids  the  charge  by  saying  only  '  certain  persons'.  But  according 
to  Matthew  the  whole  company  of  the  Twelve  was  so  prosaic, 
so  matter  of  fact,  that  they  thought  it  mere  sentimentality  to  waste 
the  ointment  on  the  Lord's  body,  and  felt  virtuous  in  their  anxiety 
for  the  poor. 

11.  Jesus  judges  otherwise.  He  counts  love  to  Him  of  more 
value  even  than  almsgiving.  The  poor  would  never  cease  out  of 
the  land  (Deut.  xv.  11).  His  followers  would  have  age-long 
opportunity  of  ministering  to  them.  But  Mary  interpreted  the 
best  heart  of  the  Church,  and  relieved  the  yearning  of  long 
centuries  by  showing  Him  this  costly  honour  ;  though  it  was  but 
an  unconscious  preparation  for  burial. 


St.  MATTHEW  XXVI.  12-17  231 

13  me  ye  have  not  always.   For  in  that  she J  poured  l  Gr- casi> 
this  ointment  upon  my  body,  she  did  it  to  pre- 

13  pare  me  for  burial.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Where- 
soever 2  this  gospel  shall  be  preached  in  the  2  0r. thes' 

good 

whole  world,  that  also  which  this  woman  hath  tidings 
done  shall  be  spoken  of  for  a  memorial  of  her. 
J4      Then  one  of  the  twelve,  who  was  called  Judas 
Iscariot,  went  unto  the  chief  priests,  and  said, 

15  What  are  ye  willing  to  give  me,  and  I  will  deliver 
him  unto  you?     And  they  weighed  unto  him 

16  thirty  pieces  of  silver.     And  from  that  time  he 
sought  opportunity  to  deliver  him  unto  the??i. 

17  Now  on  the  first  day  of  unleavened  bread  the 
disciples  came  to  Jesus,  saying,  Where  wilt  thou 

13.  This  prophecy  is  fulfilled.  Chrysostom  in  his  day  pointed 
it  out  by  saying  that  even  the  people  living  in  the  distant  British 
Isles  had  heard  of  it.  We  now  in  this  ultima  Tliule  may  say  that 
the  people  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  are  hearing  of  the 
deed  of  love. 

14-16.  Here  the  four  evangelists  are  on  common  ground. 
Matthew,  however,  brings  out  the  fact  that  the  traitor  is  influenced 
by  the  love  of  money.  That  is  the  root  of  all  kinds  of  evil,  even 
of  the  betrayal  of  Jesus. 

15.  Matthew  alone  specifies  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver.  And 
as  he  uses  the  very  unusual  verb  in  the  LXX,  of  Zech.  xi.  12 — 
a  word  which  does  not  mean  '  weighed ',  but  only  •  placed  ', 
and  that  might  mean  •  promised '  ;  probably  the  clause  ( they 
weighed  unto  him  thirty  pieces  of  silver '  is  a  quotation  from  the 
prophet  rather  than  a  statement  of  fact.  Thirty  pieces  of  silver 
(about  £\  10s.)  is  the  price  of  a  slave  in  the  Law  (Ex.  xxi.  32)  ; 
but  hardly  enough  to  buy  the  potter's  field.  Judas,  therefore,  may 
have  received  more  than  this  paltry  sum  for  his  treacher}'. 

17-19.  The  Betrayal  and  the  Suppfr.  The  fact  that  the  four 
evangelists  are  on  common  ground  in  this  passage  makes 
St.  John's  omission  of  the  institution  of  the  Eucharist  most 
impressive. 

In  the  choice  of  the  room  for  the  feast,  Matthew  is  much  briefer 
than  the  others.  The  Synoptists  all  take  the  feast  to  be  the 
Paschal  feast,  eaten  at  sundown  on  what  we  should  call  Nisan,  14th  ; 
but  as  the  Jewish  day  begins  at  sundown,  it  would  be  in  Jewish 
terminology  the  15th.     St.  John  deliberately  corrects  this  view 


232 


St.  MATTHEW  XXVI.  18-24 


•Or, 

Teacher 


that  we  make  ready  for  thee  to  eat  the  passover? 
And  he  said,  Go  into  the  city  to  such  a  man,  and  18 
say  unto  him,  The  '  Master  saith,  My  time  is  at 
hand ;  I  keep  the  passover  at  thy  house  with 
my  disciples.     And  the  disciples  did  as  Jesus  19 
appointed  them  ;  and  they  made  ready  the  pass- 
over.     Now  when  even  was  come,  he  was  sitting  20 
at  meat  with  the  twelve  2  disciples ;  and  as  they  21 
t^es,  some    were  eating,  he  said,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  that 
omit  one  of  you  shall  betray  me.     And  they  were  22 

exceeding  sorrowful,  and  began  to  say  unto  him 
every  one,  Is  it  I,  Lord  ?   And  he  answered  and  23 
said,  He  that  dipped  his  hand  with  me  in  the 
dish,  the  same  shall  betray  me.    The  Son  of  man  24 
goeth,  even  as  it  is  written  of  him  :  but  woe  unto 
that  man  through  whom  the  Son  of  man  is  be- 


2  Many 
authori- 


and  says  that  the  Supper  was  on  the  preceding  da}',  the  Prepara- 
tion (John  xix.  14).  The  sorrowful  division  of  Christendom  over 
the  question  of  the  time  of  keeping  Easter  arises  out  of  this 
discrepancy.  But  the  wise  will  pass  it  by.  For  the  Passover  see 
Exod.  xii.  15-17.  The  ancient  Feast  of  Judaism,  which  com- 
memorated the  escape  from  Eg3'ptian  bondage,  is  transformed  into 
the  Feast  of  Christendom,  which  commemorates  the  death  of 
Christ  as  the  ransom  from  sin. 

ax.  In  one  breath  the  traitor  is  denounced,  and  the  beautiful 
rite  which  is  the  pledge  of  saving  grace  is  instituted. 

23.  He  that  dipped.  The  dish  is  perhaps  the  vinegar  vessel 
in  which  the  bitter  herbs  were  soaked.  Furrer's  description  of  a 
meal  in  the  East  illustrates  the  point:  ;  Before  us  stood  two 
plates,  one  with  strongly-spiced  maccaroni,  the  other  with  a  dish 
of  fine-cut  leeks  and  onions.  Spoons  there  were  none.  There 
were  four  of  us  who  dipped  into  the  same  dish.'  '  He  that  dipped  ' 
would  not,  therefore,  specify  Judas,  but  would  only  show  that  it 
was  one  of  the  three  who  sat  nearest  to  Him.  Hence  Judas  puts 
the  question  with  the  rest,  and  receives  the  direct  answer,  _ 
ver.  25. 

24.  The  woe  pronounced  on  the  traitor  is  not  favourable  to  the 
view  that  all  will  finally  be  saved.  If  a  man  is  saved  at  the  long 
last,  whatever  he  has  passed  through,  it  is  good  for  him  that  he 
was  born. 


St.  MATTHEW  XXVI.  25-28  233 

trayed  !  good  were  it x  for  that  man  if  he  had  not  •  Gr.jfar 

25  been  born.     And  Judas,  which  betrayed  him,  that  man. 
answered  and  said,  Is  it   I,  Rabbi  ?     He  saith  2  9rv 

'  7  a  loaf 

26  unto  him,  Thou  hast  said.     And  as  they  were  s  some 
eating,  Jesus  took  2  bread,  and  blessed,  and  brake  aSoX- 
it ;  and  he  gave  to  the  disciples,  and  said,  Take,  JJkfJS? 

27  eat :  this  is  my  body.     And  he  took  3a  cup,  and  4  0l"- thc 

testament 


gave  thanks,  and  gave  to  them,  saying,  Drink  ye  ■  Many 
all  of  it ;  for  this  is  my  blood  of 4  the 5  covenant, 
which  is  shed  for  many  unto  remission  of  sins. 


ties  insert 

new. 


26.  All  through  His  time  with  the  disciples  He  had  taken  the 
bread,  and  blessed  and  broken  (Luke  xxiv.  30-5),  sometimes 
feeding  vast  multitudes.  Now  He  does  it  for  the  last  time,  and 
gives  to  it  a  permanent  significance  by  making  the  bread  the 
symbol  of  His  body  which  was  to  be  broken,  and  the  wine  of  His 
blood  which  was  to  be  shed. 

Happy  is  he  who  can  slip  past  all  the  controversies  and  the 
perversions  and  the  superstitions,  and  sit  down  at  the  Table  again 
with  the  Lord,  doing  it  in  remembrance  of  Him. 

this  is  my  body.  The  copula  is  that  of  symbolical  significance, 
as  when  Jesus  says  '  I  am  the  vine ',  or  '  I  am  the  door  '.  When 
we  come  to  the  words  afresh,  reading  the  narrative  with  our  own 
eyes,  we  cannot  make  any  mistake  about  the  meaning.  The  dull 
and  painful  literalism  out  of  which  the  error  has  grown  belongs  to 
the  past.  To  avoid  it,  and  to  save  us  from  it,  St.  John  entirely 
omitted  the  words  which  led  to  the  misunderstanding,  and  taught 
the  truth  in  another  way,  by  recording  the  early  discourse  on  the 
Bread  of  Life  (vi.  48-58). 

27.  gave  thanks,  i.  e~  encharisiesas,  from  which  the  Eucharist  is 
derived. 

28.  the  covenant.  The  word  is  from  Exod.  xxiv.  8.  It  is  the 
covenant  of  pardon  between  sinful  men  and  a  pardoning  God. 
The  Latin  translation  of  the  Hebrew  or  Greek  word  was  tesfa- 
mentum,  which  also  means  a  will.  As  dying  men  make  wills,  the 
covenant  of  Jesus  on  the  eve  of  His  death  was  naturally  regarded 
as  a  last  will  or  testament.  But  the  covenant  idea  is  the  central 
and  most  important  one. 

for  .  .  .  remission  of  sins.  Neither  in  Mark  nor  Luke  nor  Paul 
(1  Cor.  xi.  23-5).  It  interprets  the  blood-shedding  of  Jesus  for  us 
(Mark  i.  4  ;  Luke  i.  77).  From  the  first,  believers  recognized  that 
the  death  on  the  cross  was  the  ground  of  the  pardon  of  sin  to  all 
who  believe. 


234  St.  MATTHEW  XXVI.  29-35 

But  I  say  unto  you,  I  will  not  drink  henceforth  29 
of  this  fruit  of  the  vine,  until  that  day  when  I 
drink  it  new  with  you  in  my  Father's  kingdom. 

And  when  they  had  sung  a  hymn,  they  went  3° 
out  unto  the  mount  of  Olives. 

Then  saith  Jesus  unto  them,  All  ye  shall  be  31 
1  Gr.  1  offended  in  me  this  night :  for  it  is  written,  I 

stumble,     will  smite  the  shepherd,  and  the  sheep  of  the 

flock  shall  be  scattered  abroad.     But  after  I  am  32 
raised  up,  I  will  go  before  you  into  Galilee.  But  33 
Peter  answered  and  said  unto  him,  If  all  shall 
be  ]  offended  in  thee,  I  will  never  be  1  offended. 
Jesus  said  unto  him,  Verily  I  say  unto  thee,  that  34 
this  night,  before  the  cock  crow,  thou  shalt  deny 
me  thrice.    Peter  saith  unto  him,  Even  if  I  must  35 
die  with  thee,  yet  will  I  not  deny  thee.    Likewise 
also  said  all  the  disciples. 


29.  In  this  announcement,  slightly  varied  in  Luke  xxii.  18,  the 
stress  is  not  on  the  drinking  in  the  Kingdom  of  God,  a  point 
omitted  by  Luke,  but  only  on  the  fact  that  He  will  not  drink  with 
them  again  here. 

30.  a  hymn.  At  the  Paschal  feast  the  great  Hallel  is  sung 
(Ps.  cxv-cxviii).  In  Luke  and  John  we  gather  that  the  prophecy 
of  Peter's  denial  came  before  leaving  the  room. 

31-5.  All  will  desert  Him  ;  and  all  do  (ver.  56).     Peter  is 

CONFIDENT  THAT  HE  WILL  NOT  ;    BUT  HE  DOES  (ver.  75). 

The  prophecy  is  in  Zech.  xiii.  7  (LXX).  The  Lord  has  in  mind 
the  succeeding  clause  :  '  I  will  turn  my  hand  upon  the  little  ones,' 
and  applies  it  in  the  promise  :  '  I  will  go  before  you,'  the  Shep- 
herd still  leading  his  sheep  after  He  has  been  smitten  (Grotius). 
It  is  the  promise  of  the  initial  organization  of  the  Church  ;  the 
scattered  sheep  will  be  gathered  again,  and  though  they  were 
offended  in  Him,  that  stone  of  stumbling  and  rock  of  offence  will 
become  to  them  the  rock  of  refuge  and  the  sure  foundation. 

34.  In  all  four  evangelists  the  striking  saying  is  recorded.  This 
reference  to  the  cock  crowing  is  characteristic  of  the  manner  of 
Jesus.     He  says  things  in  a  way  that  no  one  can  forget. 

35.  Likewise.  All  did  not  say  exactly  the  same.  It  was  Peter's 
characteristic  to  be  emphatic  and  individual. 


St.  MATTHEAV  XXVI.  36-42  235 

36  Then  cometh  Jesus  with  them  unto  '  a  place  >  Gr.  an 
called  Gethsemane,  and  saith  unto  his  disciples,  pituo/ 

37  Sit  ye  here,  while  I  go  yonder  and  pray.     And  groundt 
he  took  with   him   Peter  and  the  two  sons  of 
Zebedee,  and  began  to  be  sorrowful  and  sore 

38  troubled.  Then  saith  he  unto  them,  My  soul  is 
exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto  death  :  abide  ye 

39  here,  and  watch  with  me.  And  he  went  forward 
a  little,  and  fell  on  his  face,  and  prayed,  saying, 

0  my  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass 
away  from  me  :  nevertheless,  not  as  I  will,  but 

40  as  thou  wilt.  And  he  cometh  unto  the  disciples, 
and  findeth  them  sleeping,  and  saith  unto  Peter, 
What,  could  ye  not  watch  with  me  one  hour  ?  ,  „ 

'  2  Or, 

41 2  Watch  and  pray,  that  ye  enter  not  into  tempta-   Watch 

.  ye,  and 

tion  :  the  spirit  indeed  is  willing,  but  the  flesh  is  pray  thai 

....  ye  enter 

42  weak.     Again  a  second  time  he  went  away,  and  not 

36-46.  The  Agony  in  the  Garden.  The  word  agony,  in 
Greek,  which  has  been  selected  to  describe  this  passage  of  the 
Lord's  work,  is  only  found  once  in  the  New  Testament,  viz.  in 
some  MSS.  of  Luke  xxii.  44.  The  scene  is  omitted  by  John  ;  and 
yet  the  idea  is  suggested  in  two  passages  (xii.  27  ff.  and  xviii.  11). 

36.  Gethsemane,  'oil-garden,' was  an  olive-grove  with  an  oil- 
mill,  where  quiet  could  be  obtained,  in  the  valley  or  on  the  hill- 
side between  Jerusalem  and  Bethany. 

37.  sorrowful  and  sore  troubled.  The  second  word  is  of  uncertain 
meaning.     It  is  used  rn  Phil.  ii.  26.     Mark  has  it,  and  in  place  of 

1  sorrowful ',  a  word  descriptive   of  intense  amazement   or  even 
terror. 

38.  He  seeks  the  sympathy  of  his  own  (John  xii.  27),  but  they 
cannot  understand.  This  horror  of  great  darkness  is  inexplicable 
to  any  but  Himself.  It  is  the  Sinless  one,  made  sin  for  us,  and 
bearing  the  sin  of  the  world. 

40.  His  disciples  could  not  watch  with  Him.  They  heard  the 
bitter  cry  and  reported  it,  but  at  the  time  they  did  not  understand. 

42.  a  second  time.  If  only  Luke  xxii.  44  were  supported  by  all 
our  MSS.  we  should  know  that  the  prayer  increased  in  intensity, 
and  the  drops  of  blood  fell  from  His  brow.  But  from  our  text  we 
know  that  He  recognized  the  impossibility  of  the  cup  passing.  It 
should  be  'since  this  cannot  pass  '. 


236  St.  MATTHEW  XXVI.  43-50 

prayed,  saying,  O  my  Father,  if  this  cannot  pass 
away,  except  I  drink  it,  thy  will  be  done.     And  43 
he  came  again  and  found  them  sleeping,  for  their 
eyes  were  heavy.     And  he  left  them  again,  and  44 
went  away,  and  prayed  a  third  time,  saying  again 
the  same  words.  Then  cometh  he  to  the  disciples,  45 
and  saith  unto  them,  Sleep  on  now,  and  take 
your  rest :  behold,  the  hour  is  at  hand,  and  the 
Son  of  man  is  betrayed  unto  the  hands  of  sinners. 
Arise,  let  us  be  going :  behold,  he  is  at  hand  46 
that  betrayeth  me. 

And  while  he  yet  spake,  lo,  Judas,  one  of  the  47 
twelve,  came,  and  with  him  a  great  multitude 
with  swords  and  staves,  from  the  chief  priests 
and  elders  of  the  people.    Now  he  that  betrayed  48 
him  gave  them  a  sign,  saying,  Whomsoever  I 
shall  kiss,  that  is  he :  take  him.     And  straight-  49 

kissed        way  he  came  to  Jesus,  and  said,  Hail,  Rabbi ; 

muc/r.        and  1  kissed  him.     And  Jesus  said  unto  him,  50 


45.  As  they  could  not  keep  awake  and  help  Him  at  the  critical 
moment,  the  opportunity  had  gone  by  for  ever.  He  had  trodden 
the  wine-press  alone,  and  He  came  out  victorious,  unaided.  The 
traitor  supervenes  on  the  dull  and  lethargic  friends  who  were 
faithful.  The  Lord  is  thrown  from  the  hands  of  apathy  and  incom- 
prehension to  those  of  positive  malignity  and  treachery. 

47-56.  The  Traitor  and  the  Fugitives. 

47.  one  of  the  tivelve.  The  designation  introduced  here  echoes 
the  undying  amazement  and  sorrow  of  the  Church,  that  one  of 
His  own  should  have  betrayed  Him.  It  is  inserted  in  all  the 
Synoptists. 

The  '  multitude  '  is  more  specifically  described  by  John  (xviii.  3) 
as  a  band  of  Roman  soldiers,  and  the  temple  guards  or  police 
sent  by  the  priests.  Though  it  was  full  moon  they  brought  lan- 
terns.    Though  Jesus  was  unarmed  they  brought  arms. 

48.  Judas  had  determined  to  indicate  his  Master  by  a  kiss, 
which  has  become  proverbial  for  heartless  Irypocrisy. 

49.  he  .  .  .  kissed  him.  A  strengthened  form  of  the  simple  word 
is  used  j  'he  kissed  Him,  as  it  were,  effusively.' 


St.  MATTHEW  XXVI.  51-56  237 

Friend,  do  that  for  which  thou  art  come.    Then 
they  came  and  laid  hands  on  Jesus,  and  took 

51  him.  And  beheld,  one  of  them  that  were  with 
Jesus  stretched  out  his  hand,  and  drew  his  sword, 

and  smote  the  '  servant  of  the  high  priest,  and  iGr.dond- 

,  .  .  ,  .  .         servant. 

52  struck  off  his  ear.  Then  saith  Jesus  unto  him, 
Put  up  again  thy  sword  into  its  place :  for  all 
they  that  take  the  sword  shall  perish  with  the 

53  sword.  Or  thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot  beseech 
my  Father,  and  he  shall  even  now  send  me  more 

54  than  twelve  legions  of  angels  ?  How  then  should 
the  scriptures  be  fulfilled,  that  thus  it  must  be  ? 

55  In  that  hour  said  Jesus  to  the  multitudes,  Are 
ye  come  out  as  against  a  robber  with  swords  and 
staves  to  seize  me?     I  sat  daily  in  the  temple 

56  teaching,  and  ye  took  me  not.  But  all  this  is 
come  to  pass,  that  the  scriptures  of  the  prophets 


50.  In  Luke  it  is  '  betrayest  thou  the  Son  of  man  with  a  kiss  ? ' 
but  this  is  far  more  dignified  and  wonderful  :  '  comrade,  that  for 
which  you  have  come  ' — and  He  breaks  off.  The  R.V.  supplies 
1  do  '.  It  might  be  •  this,  then,  is  what  you  have  come  for  ' — to  give 
a  hypocritical  kiss. 

51.  All  four  mention  the  episode  of  the  ear.  Luke  also  says 
that  He  healed  the  wounded  man,  who,  according  to  John,  was 
Malchus. 

52-4.  Peculiar  to  Matthew.  We  would  not  willingly  lose  these 
words  of  the  Lord  in  the  hour  of  His  sacrifice.  He  forbids  the  use 
of  the  sword,  showing  that  Luke  xxii.  13  ff.  was  spoken  ironically 
or  metaphoricall}'.  He  does  not  sanction  the  violence  of  war,  even 
in  His  own  defence.  If  He  was  mastered  by  this  troop  of  soldiers 
and  police  it  was  because  He  followed  His  Father's  will.  He  could 
at  a  word  summon  twelve  panoplied  legions  of  the  heavenly 
hosts  to  his  rescue.  But  He  was  here  to  suffer  as  the  Scriptures 
said,  to  be  led  as  a  dumb  sheep  to  the  slaughter  (Isa.  liii.). 

55.  He  was  indignant  that  they  came  to  Him  with  force,  and 
that  they  imagined  He  was  hiding  from  them.  He  had  been  in 
their  midst,  and  at  any  time  they  could  have  arrested  Him. 

56.  The  scripture  in  his  mind  was  still  Zech.  xiii.  7.  He  was 
the  shepherd  whom  the  Lord  would  smite,  and  the  sheep  would 


238  St.  MATTHEW  XXVI.  57 

might  be  fulfilled.    Then  all  the  disciples  left 
him,  and  fled. 

And  they  that  had  taken  Jesus  led  him  away  57 

be  scattered,  though  He  would  turn  His  hand  to  the  little  ones. 
This  was  the  hour  of  the  enemy  and  the  power  of  darkness 
(Luke  xxii.  53). 

Then  all  the  disciples  left  Him  and  fled.  Cowards  ?  Yes,  and 
ill-taught  disciples  at  the  best.  And  to  think  that  these  men,  only 
one  degree  better  than  the  traitor,  were  presently  to  be  the 
evangelists  of  the  world's  new  hope,  and  the  witnesses  of  their 
Lord,  faithful  unto  death  ;  this  more  than  anything  else  reveals 
the  nature  of  that  suffering  to  which  now  He  went. 

Ch.  xxvi.  57 — xxvii.  26.     The  Trial  and  Condemnation 
of  the  Lord. 

The  trial :  in  it  there  were  five  processes,  as  recorded  by  the 
four  evangelists,  viz.  (1)  An  informal  inquiry  before  the  ex-high 
priest  Annas  (Hanan),  recorded  in  John,  because  John  was 
present ;  (2)  the  preliminary  inquiry  (dvanpiais)  before  Caiaphas  ; 
(3)  the  formal  proceedings  before  the  Sanhedrim,  when  day  had 
dawned  ;  (4)  the  reference  to  Pilate,  to  pass  the  sentence  of 
death,  which  the  Jews  under  the  Roman  government  had  no 
independent  authority  to  execute  ;  (5)  a  reference  to  Herod  by  the 
wish  of  Pilate,  mentioned  only  by  Luke. 

Matthew  only  gives  us  the  preliminary  inquiry  before  the  dawn, 
and  the  scene  before  Pilate.  The  narrative  presents  three  signi- 
ficant episodes  :  (1)  Peter's  denial  ;  (2)  the  end  of  Judas  ;  (3) 
Barabbas  preferred  to  Jesus.  We  are  more  concerned  to  read  the 
lesson  of  Matthew  than  to  get  a  harmonistic  account  of  the  trial. 
We  see,  then,  how  our  Lord  is  first  condemned  by  the  High  Priest 
for  blasphemy,  while  His  chief  disciple  denied  that  He  knew  Him  ; 
then  His  innocence  produces  the  remorse  of  Judas  the  traitor; 
then  Pilate,  representing  the  Roman  power,  is  drawn  into  the 
condemnation  of  the  Lord,  and  Jew  and  Gentile  agree  to  value  a 
robber  and  a  murderer  before  Him.  The  trial,  in  a  word,  is  the 
plain  statement  of  the  Divine  origin  and  mission  of  Jesus,  and  of 
the  all  but  universal  repudiation  and  rejection  with  which  His  own 
received  Him.  There  is  no  apparent  art  in  the  narrative,  but 
every  detail  seems  to  bring  out  the  venomous  and  malignant  sin  of 
the  world  which  slew  the  incarnate  Son. 

57-75.  Caiaphas  and  Peter. 

The  high  priest's  house  was  probably  the  '  Booths  of  Hanan  ', 
which  had  been  built  by  Annas  on  the  Mount  of  Olives  :  and  most 
likely  Caiaphas,  the  son-in-law  of  Annas,  lived  with  Annas  there, 
so  that  the  examination  before  Annas,  and  the  more  formal 
preliminary  inquiry  were  under  the  same  roof. 


St.  MATTHEW  XXVI.  58-63  239 

to  the  house  of  Caiaphas  the  high  priest,  where 
the  scribes  and  the  elders  were  gathered  together. 

58  But  Peter  followed  him  afar  off,  unto  the  court 
of  the  high  priest,  and  entered  in,  and  sat  with 

59  the  officers,  to  see  the  end.   Now  the  chief  priests 
and  the  whole  council  sought  false  witness  against 

60  Jesus,  that  they  might  put  him  to  death  \  and 
they  found  it  not,  though  many  false  witnesses 

61  came.     But  afterward  came  two,  and  said,  This 

man  said,  I  am  able  to  destroy  the  '  temple  of  \?r> sanc- 

62  God,  and  to  build  it  in  three  days.     And  the  afin  ... 

'  ch.  xxiii. 

high  priest  stood  up,  and  said  unto  him,  Answer-  35;.. 
est  thou  nothing  ?  what  is  it  which  these  witness 

63  against  thee  ?     But  Jesus  held  his  peace.     And 


57.  the  scribes  and  the  ciders.  Twenty-three  formed  a  quorum 
for  the  Sanhedrim  ;  but  for  the  previous  inquiry  and  formulation  of 
the  case  a  smaller  committee  would  suffice. 

58.  Peter  was  just  hero  enough  to  run  into  temptation,  but  was 
not  yet  converted  and  strengthened  enough  to  resist  it. 

to  see  the  end.  In  Mark  and  John  it  is  said  he  was  '  warming 
himself.  Matthew  omits  this,  says  Wellhausen,  as  too  human. 
But  the  real  reason  why  Peter  ventured  into  the  dangerous  place 
was  that  he  loved  his  Lord  ;  he  must  see  the  end. 

59.  sought  false  witness.  Mark  only  says  they  sought  witness, 
and  the  witnesses  were  false.  In  any  case,  it  was  a  foregone 
conclusion,  and  the  judges  were  the  prosecutors.  There  was  no 
attempt  at  justice,  still  less  at  impartiality. 

61.  The  two  witnesses  had  got  hold  of  something  which  He 
had  actually  said  ;  but  how  inexactly  they  had  got  it  is  shown 
by  this,  that  the  words  in  Mark  (xiv.  58)  differ  from  the  words 
here  (see  also  xxvii.  40  ;  Mark  xv.  29  ;  and  John  ii.  19).  It  was 
a  remark  which  He  had  made  in  the  earliest  days  of  His  ministry. 
They  had  nothing  later  to  bring  against  Him.  It  is  clear  also  that 
the  authorities  well  understood  the  saying  as  a  forecast  of  His  own 
resurrection,  and  not  as  a  threat  against  the  Temple  ;  for  it  was 
on  this  saying  alone  that  they  relied  in  demanding  a  watch  for  the 
tomb,  ver.  64. 

62.  But  this  loose  charge  could  not  prove  guilt.  Jesus,  who 
had  spoken  freely  before  Annas  (as  John  shows,  xviii.  12-24),  was 
silent  before  the  legal  tribunal. 


240  St.  MATTHEW  XXVI.  64-66 

the  high  priest  said  unto  him,  I  adjure  thee  by 
the  living  God,  that  thou  tell  us  whether  thou 
be  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God.  Jesus  saith  unto  64 
him,  Thou  hast  said :  nevertheless  I  say  unto 
you,  Henceforth  ye  shall  see  the  Son  of  man 
sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  power,  and  coming 
on  the  clouds  of  heaven.  Then  the  high  priest  65 
rent  his  garments,  saying,  He  hath  spoken  blas- 
phemy :  what  further  need  have  we  of  witnesses  ? 
behold,  now  ye  have  heard  the  blasphemy  :  what 
think   ye  ?     They   answered   and   said,    He   is  66 


63.  The  silence  forced  the  High  Priest  to  the  unusual  course  of 
adjuring  the  prisoner.  From  Lev.  v.  1  it  seems  that  the  adjuration 
required  an  answer.  Besides,  the  time  had  come  for  Jesus  to 
say  simply,  once  for  all,  who  He  was.  Is  He  Messias,  is  He  Son 
of  God  ?    In  John  xix.  7,  the  charge  of  blasphemy  is  based  on  this. 

64.  Thou  hast  said  is  equivalent  to  the  '  I  am  '  of  Mark  xiv. 
61. 

nevertheless — the  Greek  conjunction  T\\r\v  ;  the  adversative  seems 
to  be  justified  by  the  phrase  '  thou  hast  said  '  ;  Caiaphas  has  used 
the  words  '  thou  art  Christ,  the  Son  of  God ',  though  only  in 
interrogation  ;  '  I  say  unto  you  '  something  even  more  :  '  never- 
theless' is  too  strong;  better  'thou  hast  said,  only  I  say,  &c.' 
The  same  conjunction  in  Matt.  xi.  22,  24.  He  emphasizes  his 
first  statement  with  a  second  of  deeper  significance  (Dalman). 

Henceforth.  In  Luke  'from  now'  (xxii.  69)  ;  so  Matt,  xxiii. 
39,  xxvi.  29.  Mark  omits.  The  manifestation  of  His  power 
begins  from  the  Cross.  The  two  phrases  describing  His  glory 
are  from  Ps.  ex.  i  and  Dan.  vii.  13  (LXX). 

65.  Jesus  had  just  given  the  High  Priest  the  ground  of  accusa- 
tion which  he  wanted.  The  trial  would  have  broken  down 
altogether,  had  not  Jesus  played  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
But  He  was  bound  to  do  this.  He  had  come  to  bear  witness  of 
the  truth,  and  now  He  must  avow  the  Divine  origin  which  was  to 
be  the  stumblingblock  to  the  Jew. 

The  rending  of  the  garments  expresses  indignation  ;  according 
to  Rabbinical  directions  all  the  garments  were  to  be  rent,  though 
there  were  ten.  Lev.  xxiv.  16  pronounces  death  on  a  blasphemer. 
The  anomaly  is  that  the  nation  which  expected  Messias  should 
treat  the  Messias  as  blasphemous  for  announcing  His  mission. 
This  was  prejudice.  The  national  expectation  had  gone  so  far 
astray  that  it  could  not  hail  any  but  a  pseudo-messias. 


St.  MATTHEW  XXVI.  67-74  241 

67 1  worthy  of  death.     Then  did  they  spit  in  his  l^-  {q 
face  and  buffet  him  :  and  some  smote  him 2  with  2  Or,  with 

68  the  palms  of  their  hands,  saying,  Prophesy 
unto  us,  thou  Christ :  who  is  he  that  struck 
thee  ? 

69  Now  Peter  was  sitting  without  in  the  court : 
and  a  maid  came  unto  him,  saying,  Thou  also 

70  wast  with  Jesus  the  Galilaean.  But  he  denied 
before  them  all,  saying,  I  know  not  what  thou 

71  sayest.  And  when  he  was  gone  out  into  the 
porch,  another  maid  saw  him,  and  saith  unto 
them  that  were  there,  This  man  also  was  with 

72  Jesus  the  Nazarene.    And  again  he  denied  with 

73  an  oath,  I  know  not  the  man.  And  after  a  little 
while  they  that  stood  by  came  and  said  to  Peter, 
Of  a  truth  thou  also  art  one  of  them ;  for  thy 

74  speech  bewrayeth  thee.    Then  began  he  to  curse 


67.  Luke  says  that  the  attendants  indulged  in  these  outrages  ; 
Mark  divides  them  between  the  attendants  and  the  Sanhedrists  ; 
Matthew  implies  that  all  were  the  act  of  the  Sanhedrists  them- 
selves. Here  were  a  dozen  or  so  of  the  grave  elders,  priests,  and 
doctors  of  the  Law,  spitting  at  Jesus  and  slapping  Him,  in  an 
outbreak  of  devilish  passion.  And  the  cry  *  prophesy  unto  us ' 
has  an  awful  irony  in  it,  when  the  fact  is  grasped  that  they  were 
speaking  to  the  eternal  Son,  and  the  Judge  of  all  the  world,  '  Who 
is  it  that  struck  Thee  ? '  He  will  know  ;  it  is  all  recorded  and 
remembered. 

68.  thou  Christ.     Ironical. 

69.  Jesus  the  Galilcean.  Here,  but  in  ver.  71  the  Nazarene.  It 
is  possible  that  Nazarene  was  equivalent  to  Galilaean.  The  whole 
region  may  have  been  '  the  land  of  Nesar',  cf.  Gen-nesar-eth. 
Jesus  the  Nazarene  is  a  title  which  was  early  adopted  (xxi.  11, 
Acts  x.  38).  Cf.  Julian  :  '  Nazarene,  thou  hast  conquered.' 

73.  The  speech  of  Galilee  was  more  guttural,  and  substituted 
/  for  s.  Jesus  Himself  would  speak  the  Galilaean  dialect  (Dalman, 
Words  of  Jesus,  p.  81). 

74.  In  Mark  xiv.  72,  the  cock  crows  twice. 

R 


242  St.  MATTHEW  XXVI.  75— XXVII.  4 

and  to  swear,  I  know  not  the  man.   And  straight- 
way the  cock  crew.   And  Peter  remembered  the  75 
word  which  Jesus  had  said,  Before  the  cock  crow, 
thou  shalt  deny  me  thrice.     And  he  went  out, 
and  wept  bitterly. 

Now  when  morning  was  come,  all  the  chief  27 
priests  and  the  elders  of  the  people  took  counsel 
against  Jesus  to  put  him  to  death  :  and  they  2 
bound  him,  and  led  him  away,  and  delivered 
him  up  to  Pilate  the  governor. 

Then  Judas,  which  betrayed  him,  when  he  3 
saw  that  he  was  condemned,  repented  himself, 
1  Many       and  brought  back  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver  to 
authori-      the  chief  priests  and  elders,  saying,  I  have  sinned  4 
r?S«j.  in  that  I  betrayed  l  innocent  blood.    But  they 


75.  Only  Luke  gives  the  exquisite  touch,  that  Jesus  smote  the 
conscience  of  Peter  by  looking  at  him  (xxii.  61). 
the  word  which  Jesus  had  said  (ver.  34). 

wept  bitterly.  Dr.  Wright  thinks  that  the  '  bitterly '  is  only  the 
translation  of  Mark's  emfiaXcjv,  the  meaning  of  which  is  uncertain  : 
translated  by  the  revisers  '  when  he  thought  thereon  '  ;  it  might 
mean  '  fell  to  weeping '. 

Ch.  xxvii.  1-10.     The  Remorse  of  Judas. 

1.  morning.  The  Law  required  that  a  death  sentence  should 
only  be  passed  by  day,  and  after  a  second  meeting  of  the 
Sanhedrim.  The  Roman  government  forbade  all  death  sentences 
without  the  consent  of  the  Procurator. 

2.  governor.  The  general  word  7]^d\mv  is  used  here  and 
in  Acts  for  a  Roman  procurator  or  proconsul.  The  procurator 
lived  at  Caesarea,  but  came  to  Jerusalem  with  his  troops  for  the 
Passover.  Pilate  is  a  weak  and  unprincipled  representative  of  the 
Roman  authority,  a  typical  'unjust  judge'. 

3.  Only  Matthew  tells  the  remorse  of  Judas,  though  Luke 
mentions  his  suicide  in  Acts  i.  18. 

repented.  Did  he  think  that  Jesus  would  miraculously  escape  ? 
Was  his  intention  to  furnish  the  Lord  with  an  opportunity  of 
manifesting  His  power?  The  self-deceit  of  the  human  heart 
is  limitless. 

4.  His  confession  that  Jesus  was  innocent  is  most  valuable. 
The  horror  at  finding  the  chief  priests   and  elders  callous  and 


St.  MATTHEW  XXVII.  5-10  243 

5  said,  What  is  that  to  us  ?  see  thou  to  it.    And  he 
cast  down  the  pieces  of  silver  into  the  sanctuary,  1  Gr. 
and  departed ;  and  he  went  away  and  hanged  {\ 


corbaiias. 


lat  is. 


sacred 
treasury. 


6  himself.     And  the  chief  priests  took  the  pieces 
of  silver,  and  said,  It  is  not  lawful  to  put  them  MaTlFvih 
into  the  l  treasury,  since  it  is  the  price  of  blood.  "• 

7  And  they  took  counsel,  and  bought  with  them  through 

8  the  potter's  field,  to  bury  strangers  in.     Where-  "nook 
fore  that  field  was  called,  The  field  of  blood,  4°r' 

'    whom 

0  unto  this  day.     Then  was  fulfilled  that  which  ***?  . 

priced 

was  spoken  2by  Jeremiah  the  prophet,  saying,  on  the 
And  3they  took  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  the  the  sons 
price  of  him  that  was  priced, i  whom  certain  of  the  «  Some- 
10  children  of  Israel  did  price  j  and 5  they  gave  them  Soli. 
for  the  potter's  field,  as  the  Lord  appointed  me.  /^,S. 


unprincipled  murderers  would  exasperate  his  remorse.     '  What, 
have  I  betrayed  my  guiltless  Lord,  for  these? ' 

5.  the  sanctuary.  The  Holy  Place  itself.  He  had  got  rid  of 
the  cursed  money.  It  stung  and  burnt  him.  He  hanged  himself ; 
Luke's  description  is  more  detailed  in  Acts  i.  18,  and  not  easy  to 
harmonize  with  our  account  here. 

6.  The  scruplesof  these  murderous  priests  are  fine.  The  treasury, 
called  here  Corban  (see  Mark  vii,  11  and  Josephus,  B.  I.  ii.  9.  4). 

8.  The  field  of  blood,  because  it  was  bought  with  the  price  of 
blood,  or  because  Judas  died  there  ? 

9.  Matthew  in  his  manner  connects  the  event  with  a  prophetic 
passage  in  Zech.  xi.  13,-  which  in  the  LXX  reads,  '  And  I  took  the 
thirty  pieces  of  silver  and  cast  them  into  the  house  of  the  Lord, 
into  the  smelting  furnace.'  In  the  Hebrew,  '  And  the  Lord  said  unto 
me,  Cast  it  unto  the  potter  (or  Syriac  'into  the  treasury'),  the 
goodly  price  that  I  was  prized  at  of  them.  And  I  took  the  thirty 
pieces  of  silver  and  cast  them  unto  the  potter,  in  the  house  of  the 
Lord.'  The  low  value  of  the  Lord's  messenger  is  the  point  of 
similarity  between  the  experience  of  the  ancient  prophet  and 
Judas's  betrayal  of  Jesus.  We  cannot,  however,  build  up  an 
argument  on  the  fulfilment  of  this  ancient  prophecy,  because  we 
do  not  know  how  far  the  evangelist,  on  whose  sole  testimony  the 
passage  before  us  rests,  was  influenced  by  the  prophetic  word  in 
his  record  of  the  event.  The  ascription  of  the  prophecy  to 
Jeremiah  is  a  slip,  unless  the  latter  part  of  the  Book  of  Zechariah 

R  2 


244  St.  MATTHEW  XXVII.  11-18 

Now  Jesus  stood  before  the  governor :  and  1 1 
the  governor  asked  him,  saying,  Art  thou  the 
King  of  the  Jews  ?    And  Jesus  said  unto  him, 
Thou  sayest.    And  when  he  was  accused  by  the  1 2 
chief  priests  and  elders,  he  answered  nothing. 
Then  saith  Pilate  unto  him,  Hearest  thou  not  13 
how  many  things  they  witness  against   thee? 
And  he  gave  him  no  answer,  not  even  to  one  14 
word :  insomuch  that  the  governor  marvelled 
'°r>         greatly.    Now  at  xthe  feast  the  governor  was  15 

a  feast 

wont  to  release  unto  the  multitude  one  prisoner, 
whom  they  would.  And  they  had  then  a  notable  16 
prisoner,  called  Barabbas.   When  therefore  they  17 
were  gathered  together,  Pilate  said  unto  them, 
Whom  will  ye  that  I  release  unto  you  ?     Barab- 
bas, or  Jesus  which  is  called  Christ?     For  he  18 
knew  that  for  envy  they  had  delivered  him  up. 

is  actually  Jeremiah's.  It  is  to  be  noted,  Matthew  makes  '  I  took ' 
into  '  they  took  '  ;  in  the  Greek,  'iXafrov  might  be  either.  And  he 
introduces  'the  children  of  Israel',  which  is  not  in  Zechariah, 
to  fix  the  guilt  of  Christ's  death  on  the  whole  nation. 

11-26.  Barabbas  preferred  to  Christ.  In  Josephus  {Antiq. 
xx.  9.  1)  the  high  priest  was  considered  to  have  acted  illegally 
in  assembling  the  Sanhedrim  to  condemn  '  James  the  Just ' 
without  the  consent  of  the  Roman  authorities.  Here  the  high 
priests  are  most  anxious  to  keep  within  the  law,  both  of  the 
Jews  and  of  the  Romans. 

12.  The  silence  of  Jesus  fixed  Pilate's  attention  on  the  Silent 
One.  He  saw  that  this  was  no  dangerous  political  leader ; 
though  the  accusers  had  changed  the  '  Christ '  (xxvi.  63)  into 
'  King  of  the  Jews  '  to  rouse  the  alarm  of  the  governor. 

15.  The  custom  of  releasing  a  prisoner  at  the  feast  is  not  else- 
where known.  But  Pilate  fatuously  thought  that  this  custom 
afforded  him  a  good  opportunity  of  releasing  a  prisoner,  who  was 
evidently  the  victim  of  envy,  innocent  of  any  breach  of  the  law. 

16.  Barabbas  in  Syra  S.  is  called  Jesus  Barabbas.  The 
authority  is  doubtful,  but  the  same  name  brings  home  the  choice  : 
Jesus  Barabbas  or  Jesus  Christ  ? 

18.  which  is  called  Christ,  i.  e.  surnamed  (cf.  i.  16,  iv.  18,  x.  2). 


St.  MATTHEW  XXVII.  19-26  245 

19  And  while  he  was  sitting  on  the  judgement-seat, 
his  wife  sent  unto  him,  saying,  Have  thou  nothing 
to  do  with  that  righteous  man  :  for  I  have  suffered 
many  things  this  day  in  a  dream  because  of  him. 

20  Now  the  chief  priests  and  the  elders  persuaded 
the  multitudes  that  they  should  ask  for  Barabbas, 

21  and  destroy  Jesus.  But  the  governor  answered 
and  said  unto  them,  Whether  of  the  twain  will 
ye  that  I  release  unto  you?     And  they  said, 

22  Barabbas.  Pilate  saith  unto  them,  What  then 
shall  I  do  unto  Jesus  which  is  called  Christ? 

23  They  all  say,  Let  him  be  crucified.  And  he 
said,  Wriy,  what  evil  hath  he  done?  But  they 
cried  out  exceedingly,  saying,  Let  him  be  cruci- 

24  fied.  So  when  Pilate  saw  that  he  prevailed 
nothing,  but  rather  that  a  tumult  was  arising, 
he  took  water,  and  washed  his  hands  before  the 
multitude,  saying    I  am  innocent  J  of  the  blood  '  s°me 

.  J      °  ancient 

25  of  this  righteous  man  :  see  ye  to  it.    And  all  the  authori- 

-  -        .....        .  ties  read 

people  answered  and  said,  His  blood  be  on  us,  of  tins 

26  and  on  our  children.     Then  released  he  unto  ye^-c. 


19.  Only  Matthew  tells  the  dream  of  Pilate's  wife.  We  know 
that  Governors  took  their  wives  into  the  provinces  since  the  time 
of  Augustus,  because  Tacitus  records  a  protest  against  the  practice 
(Tac,  Ann.  iii.  3,  4).  It  was  an  early  morning  dream  ;  and  it 
affected  the  superstitious  Roman  ;  he  makes  several  feeble  efforts 
to  allay  the  enmity  against  Jesus.  And  when  in  his  weak- 
ness he  yields,  he  washes  his  hands  in  public  to  disclaim  respon- 
sibility. 

24.  This  also  is  only  told  by  Matthew.  The  handwashing  is 
illustrated  by  Deut.  xxi.  6,  7  and  Ps.  xxvi.  6.  Every  one  saw  his 
intention.  And  the  multitude,  led  by  their  priests,  gladly  accepted 
the  responsibility.  After  all,  the  guilt  of  Pilate  was  secondary,  as 
Jesus  ahows  (John  xix.  11).     The  guilt  was  on  the  Jews. 

25.  His  blood  seems  to  be  on  the  head  of  them  and  of  their 
children  to  this  day. 


246  St.  MATTHEW  XXVII.  27-29 

them    Barabbas :    but   Jesus  he  scourged  and 

delivered  to  be  crucified. 
tor/um*'       Then  the  soldiers  of  the  governor  took  Jesus  27 
xv.ei6.ar     into  the  palace,  and  gathered  unto  him  the 
*°r>  whole  2band.    And  they  3  stripped  him,  and  put  28 

3  Some       on  him  a  scarlet  robe.    And  they  plaited  a  crown 
authori-      of  thorns  and  put  it  upon  his  head,  and  a  reed  29 
ciothS.       in  his  right  hand  ;  and  they  kneeled  down  before 

26.  scourged.  It  was  the  barbarous  custom  of  the  Romans  to 
scourge  before  crucifying  (Josephus,  B.  I.  v.  11.  1). 

Ch.  xxvii.  27-56.     The  Sacrifice. 

The  mysterious  self-offering  of  Jesus  is  presented  by  Matthew 
in  four  scenes.  In  the  Preetorium,  the  crown  of  thorns  (ver.  27-31) ; 
Golgotha  (ver.  32-7)  ;  the  railing  of  passers-by,  priests,  and 
thieves  (ver.  38-44)  ;  the  voice  from  the  Cross :  the  Son  of  God 
(ver.  45-54).  And  then  we  are  told  how  women  were  the 
spectators  of  the  scene  (ver.  55-6). 

It  may  be  impossible  to  isolate  this  narrative  from  those  of  the 
other  three  evangelists.  The  seven  words  from  the  cross  (here 
we  have  only  one),  the  repentance  of  the  one  malefactor,  and 
many  other  details,  form  integral  parts  of  the  great  transaction. 
But  it  is  well  to  see  it  all  with  Matthew's  e3'es,  and  with  his  only 
for  a  while.  From  the  derision  of  the  soldiers  to  the  sympathetic 
watching  of  the  women,  it  forms  a  noble  and  complete  passage. 

27-31.  The  Pr^torium  and  the  Crown  of  Thorns.  Matthew 
omits  the  description  of  the  scourging,  that  appalling  brutality  of 
Roman  criminal  procedure,  under  which  the  sufferer  often  fainted 
and  sometimes  died.  He  alone  mentions  the  reed  in  the  Lord's 
hand  as  a  mock  sceptre. 

27.  The  Praetorium,  which  meant  originally  the  general's  tent 
in  the  camp,  was  the  official  residence  of  the  procurator  in 
Jerusalem.  The  '  band '  would  hardly  be  the  cohort,  but  the 
maniple,  consisting  of  200  men. 

28.  The  cloak  would  be  a  soldier's  sagiiin  ;  but,  as  the  purple 
colour  is  emphasized  both  here  (Mark  xv.  17)  and  in  John  (xix.  2), 
it  may  have  been  a  cast-off  general's  cloak.  They  saluted  Him  as 
their  imperator  ! 

29.  The  thorns  were  not  meant  to  wound  the  head  ;  but  the 
common  brier  of  the  roadside  chanced  to  be  thorny.  It  is  the 
imagination  of  later  art  which  makes  the  thorns  tear  His  brow  and 
pour  down  drops  of  blood.  The  soldiers  intended  mockery,  not 
torture.  Philo  mentions  how  the  youth  of  Alexandria  hailed 
the  half-witted  Karabas  as  King  of  the  Jews,  intending  an  insult 
to  Herod  Agrippa. 


St.  MATTHEW  XXVII.  30-34  247 

him,  and  mocked  him,  saying,  Hail,  King  of  the 

30  Jews  !     And  they  spat  upon  him,  and  took  the 

31  reed  and  smote  him  on  the  head.  And  when 
they  had  mocked  him,  they  took  off  from  him 
the  robe,  and  put  on  him  his  garments,  and  led 
him  away  to  crucify  him. 

32  And  as  they  came  out,  they  found  a  man  of 
Cyrene,  Simon  by  name:  him  they  Compelled  ' Gr- "«- 

7  ,  ,  -1  pressed. 

to  go  ivith  them,  that  he  might  bear  his  cross. 

33  And  when  they  were  come  unto  a  place  called 
Golgotha,  that  is  to  say,  The  place  of  a  skull, 

34  they  gave  him  wine  to  drink  mingled  with  gall : 
and  when  he  had  tasted  it,  he  would  not  drink. 

30.  In  the  Gospel  of  St.  Peter,  they  spit  into  His  eyes,  and 
slap  His  cheeks. 

31.  Is  it  implied  that  the  scornful  crown  was  left  on  the  sacred  head  ? 
32-7.  Golgotha.   The  Aramaic   anhyhy ,   translated    into    Latin 

calvarium.  The  spot  took  the  name  perhaps  from  the  bare 
rounded  appearance  of  the  rock ;  and  this  led  General  Gordon  to 
seek  the  site  in  the  hill  with  scarped  face,  and  two  caves  like 
eye-sockets,  outside  the  Damascus  Gate.  As  the  caves,  however, 
are  more  recent,  and  the  resemblance  to  a  skull  is  somewhat 
fanciful,  there  is  no  reason  to  discredit  the  traditional  site  of 
Calvar}'  and  the  tomb,  which,  though  within  the  walls  of  the 
modern  city,  was  outside  the  walls  in  the  days  of  Jesus. 
It  was  but  a  short  distance,  along  what  is  now  called  the 
Via  Dolorosa,  from  the  Praetorium  (the  remains  of  the  pave- 
ment are  now  laid  bare)  to  the  place  of  execution ;  but  the 
soldiers  would  not  touch  the  cross,  and  requisitioned  a  passer-  by, 
an  African  Jew  ;  his  sons  were  apparently  converted  to  Christ 
(Mark  xv.  21  ;  Rom.  xvi.  13).  John,  however,  makes  a  point  of 
the  fact  that  Jesus  carried  the  cross  Himself  outside  the  city 
gate  (xix.  17).  Matthew  does  not  emphasize  the  fact  that  the 
crucifixion  was  without  the  walls,  which  is  singular,  considering 
the  Old  Testament  analogies  (Num.  xv.  35  ;  1  Kings  xxi.  23) 
and  the  New  Testament  symbolism  (Heb.  xiii.  11). 

34.  It  is  also  surprising  that  Matthew  fails  to  point  out  how  the 
wine  and  gall  fulfilled  Ps.  Ixix.  21,  and  the  parting  of  the  garments 
(Ps.  xxii.  18). 

The  wine  mingled  with  gall  (taken  from  LXX,  Ps.  Ixix.  21, 
though  Nestle  suggests  a  confusion  between  ma  'gall'  and  mitt 


248  St.  MATTHEW  XXVII.  35-40 

And  when  they  had  crucified  him,  they  parted  35 
his  garments  among  them,  casting  lots  :  and  they  36 
sat  and  watched  him  there.     And  they  set  up  37 
over  his  head  his  accusation  written,  this  is 
jesus  the  king  of  the  jews.     Then  are  there  38 
crucified  with  him  two  robbers,  one  on  the  right 
hand,  and  one  on  the  left.    And  they  that  passed  39 
by  railed  on  him,  wagging  their  heads,  and  saying, 
1  Or,  sane-  Thou  that  destroyest  the  1  temple,  and  buildest  4° 
it  in  three  days,  save  thyself :  if  thou  art  the  Son 

1  myrrh ')  or  with  myrrh  (Mark  xv.  23)  was  offered  as  a  narcotic. 
It  would  be  very  nasty  to  drink.     He  refused  it. 

35.  Matthew  hurries  over  the  terrible  fact  of  the  crucifying  in 
a  participle.  But  this  fact  fills  and  makes  the  Gospel.  It  is.well  to 
trace  the  death  of  Jesus  through  the  New  Testament :  1  Thess.  ii.  15, 
iv.  14  ;  1  Cor.  viii,  11  ;  Rom.  viii.  34,  xiv.  9  ;  Rev.  i.  18,  ii.  8  ;  1  Pet. 
iv.  1  ;  Acts  i.  3,  iii.  15,  xvii.  3.  The  cross  is  mentioned  1  Cor.  i.  17, 
23  ;  ii.  2,  8 ;  2  Cor.  xiii.  4  ;  Gal.  ii.  20 ;  iii.  1,  13 ;  v.  11,  vi.  12  ; 
Phil.  ii.  8  ;  iii.  18  ;  Col.  i.  20,  ii.  14  ;  Eph.  ii.  16 ;  Heb.  xii.  2  ; 
1  Pet.  ii.  24  ;  Acts  ii.  36,  iv.  10,  v.  30,  x.  39,  xiii.  29,  Rev.  xi.  8. 

The  virtue  of  our  Lord's  death  runs  all  through  the  New  Testa- 
ment :  1  Thess.  v.  10  ;  1  Cor.  i.  30,  xv.  3  ;  2  Cor.  v.  14,  18  ; 
Gal.  i.  4,  ii.  20,  iii.  13  ;  Rom.  iii.  24,  iv.  25,  v.  10,  19  ;  viii.  32, 
xiv.  15  ;  Col.  i.  14,  ii.  20 ;  Eph.  i.  7  ;  ii.  16,  v.  2,  25  ;  1  Tim.  i.  15  ; 
Tit.  ii.  14  ;  Heb.  i.  3,  ii.  9,  14  ;  ix.  26,  x.  12  ;  Rev.  i.  5  ;  v.  9. 12  ; 
xiii.  8  ;  1  Pet.  i.  2,  18  ;  ii.  21,  iii.  18  ;  Acts  viii.  32,  xx.  28. 

37.  The  accusation  was  simply  'The  King  of  the  Jews1 
(Mark  xv.  26)  ;  the  slight  additions  in  the  other  three  gospels 
serve  to  remind  us  how  unimportant  a  verbal  exactitude  is.  It 
was  the  only  accusation  that  could  be  brought  against  Him,  but 
even  this  was  unfounded.  As  He  explained  to  Pilate,  He  only 
claimed  to  be  king  in  a  spiritual  sense,  as  a  witness  of  truth.  His 
kingship  did  not  interfere  with  the  Roman  Government.  It  is 
true  that  He  never  was  king  of  the  Jews.  They  would  not  have 
Him  to  reign  over  them  ;  they  will  not  yet.  But  in  the  sense 
in  which  He  understood  kingship,  He  was  and  is  increasingly 
King  of  men. 

38-44.  The  Railing.  This  comes  from  the  passers-by,  who 
represented  the  world  at  large ;  the  Priests,  who  represent 
Judaism  ;  (the  soldiers,  mentioned  by  Luke  xxiii.  36,  who  repre- 
sent Rome)  ;  and  the  thieves,  who  represent  fallen  humanity. 
Happily  we  know  from  St.  Luke  that  of  this  last  element  half  turn 
to  Him  and  believe. 


St.  MATTHEW  XXVII.  41-45  249 

41  of  God,  come  down  from  the  cross.  In  like 
manner  also  the  chief  priests  mocking  him,  with 

43  the  scribes  and  elders,  said,  He  saved  others ; 

himself  he  cannot  save.     He  is  the  King  of  '°r.  can 

0  he  not 

Israel :  let  him  now  come  down  from  the  cross,  save  Aim- 

■  1  /"i  self? 

43  and  we  will  believe  on  him.  He  trusteth  on  God  ; 
let  him  deliver  him  now,  if  he  desireth  him  :  for 

44  he  said,  I  am  the  Son  of  God.  And  the  robbers 
also  that  were  crucified  with  him  cast  upon  him 
the  same  reproach. 

45  Now  from  the  sixth  hour  there  was  darkness 

2  Or, 

over  all  the  2  land  until  the  ninth  hour.     And  earth 


40.  This  heartless  raillery  against  a  fellow  creature  dying  in 
anguish  is  almost  incredible  to  the  modern  world.  We  do  not 
detect  in  ourselves  even  a  tendency  to  cruelty  of  this  savage 
kind.  Why?  His  cross  has  changed  us.  The  saying  for  which 
He  was  condemned  (xxvi.  61)  is  in  every  one's  mouth.  It  was 
distorted  and  misrepresented.  But  the  charge,  that  He  made 
Himself  the  Son  of  God,  was  true  enough.  How  conclusive  their 
argument  was  to  themselves !  A  Son  of  God  would  save  Him- 
self!  The  world  was  to  learn  from  this  very  scene  that  a  Son 
of  God  seeks  to  save  others  ;  and  so  far  the  charge  of  the 
chief  priests,  scribes,  and  elders  is  justified.  He  could  not  save 
Himself,  consistently  with  saving  the  world. 

41.  The  words  of  these  rabbis  exactly  fulfil  Ps.  xx.  8,  and  so 
witness  that  Jesus  is  the  suffering  Messias. 

42.  Would  the}'  have  believed  if  He  had  come  down  from  the 
Cross  ?  Yes,  but  what  would  they  have  believed  ?  Not  the 
Saviour,  for  He  would  have  declined  His  task.  They  would 
only  believe  a  Saviour,  on  condition  that  He  ceased  to  save  ! 

43.  The  quotation  from  Ps.  xxii.  8  is  only  given  by  Matthew, 
who  was  struck  by  the  remarkable  fulfilment  of  the  Psalm  in  the 
action  of  the  priests.  Did  evangelist  or  priests  remember  Wisdom 
ii.  16,  where  the  wicked  deride  the  righteous  man  thus :  '  He 
vaunteth  that  God  is  his  father.  Let  us  see  if  his  words  be  true, 
and  let  us  try  what  shall  befall  in  the  ending  of  his  life.  For  if  the 
righteous  man  is  God's  son,  He  will  uphold  him,  and  He  will 
deliver  him  out  of  the  hand  of  his  adversaries.' 

Matthew  alone  recalls  the  scene  in  the  trial  (xxvi.  63,  64)  in 
which  Jesus  said  that  He  was  the  Son  of  God. 

45-54-  The  Voice  from  the  Cross  :  the  Son  ok  God  dies. 
45.  The  three  Synoptics  all  state  that  at  noon  darkness  came 


250  St.  MATTHEW  XXVII.  47-49 

about  the  ninth  hour  Jesus  cried  with  a  loud 

voice,  saying,  Eli,  Eli,  lama  sabachthani?  that 

is,  My  God,  my  God,  *  why  hast  thou  forsaken 

didst  thou  me?    And  some  of  them  that  stood  there,  when  47 

me}  they  heard  it,   said,   This  man  calleth  Elijah. 

And  straightway  one  of  them  ran,  and  took  a  48 
sponge,  and  filled  it  with  vinegar,  and  put  it  on 
a  reed,  and  gave  him  to  drink.     And  the  rest  49 


on.  The  Gospel  of  St.  Peter  adds  the  quaint  remark,  that  the 
Jews  feared  the  sun  had  set,  and  the  Law  forbad  the  sun  to  set 
on  a  slain  criminal.  So  habitual  is  the  triviality  of  the  human 
mind,  regarding  punctilios  of  human  law,  when  Heaven  is  pro- 
testing against  the  worst  of  sins. 

The  same  fragment  of  St.  Peter's  Gospel  rightly  interprets  'all 
the  land'  as  Judaea.  It  was  a  local  darkness,  not  caused  by 
eclipse,  but  by  the  death  of  God's  only  begotten  Son.  The  dark- 
ness lasted  from  noon  till  the  time  of  the  offering  of  the  evening 
sacrifice. 

46.  This  is  the  only  one  of  the  seven  sayings  from  the  cross 
recorded  by  Matthew.  Jesus  uttered  Ps.  xxii.  i  :  He  had 
meditated  on  the  whole  psalm  as  foreshadowing  His  experience.  If 
on  the  cross  He  was  consciously  quoting  the  psalm  of  the  suffering 
Messias,  and  the  first  verse  was  overheard,  we  are  relieved  of 
the  difficulty  which  some  have  found  in  the  thought  that  even  for 
a  moment  Jesus  felt  forsaken  by  God.  But  on  the  other  hand, 
this  difficulty  often  disappears,  and  becomes  the  deepest  well  of 
comfort,  in  the  dark  hours  of  the  Christian's  experience.  To 
know  that  He,  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  in  the  fulfilment  of  His 
sacrifice  for  sin,  felt  deserted  by  God,  brings  hope  and  comfort  to 
the  trembling  human  soul  that  is  tempted  to  utter  the  same  cry. 

Apparently  he  spoke  in  Aramaic.  The  Gospel  of  St.  Peter 
translates  it  :  '  My  strength,  my  strength,  thou  leavest  me.'  The 
bystanders  were  ignorant  of  Aramaic,  and  perhaps  of  Hebrew  : 
they  mistook  Eloi  (my  God),  for  the  name  of  Elijah. 

48.  The  drink  is  a- fulfilment  of  Ps.  Ixix.  22,  'They  gave  me 
gall  to  eat  and  gave  me  vinegar  to  drink'  (LXX).  In  Luke 
xxiii.  36,  the  sour  wine  is  offered  to  Him  in  mocker}7 ;  it  was  the 
posca,  the  Roman  soldiers'  ordinary  drink.  In  John  xix.  28,  it 
was  offered  in  response  to  a  cry  from  the  sufferer,  '  I  thirst.'  In 
such  a  scene  of  anguish  and  excitement  details  of  this  kind 
inevitably  become  confused. 

49.  the  rest  said.  In  Mark  xv.  36  this  is  said  by  the  soldier  who 
proffered  the  sponge  of  wine. 


St.  MATTHEW  XXVII.  50-54  251 

said,  Let  be ;  let  us  see  whether  Elijah  cometh 

50  to  save  him.1   And  Jesus  cried  again  with  a  loud  '  Many 

J  t  ,  ancient 

51  voice,  and  yielded  up  his  spirit.     And  behold,  authori- 

.  ...  ties  add 

the  veil  of  the  2  temple  was  rent  in  twain  from  And 

the  top  to  the  bottom  ;  and  the  earth  did  quake  ;  took  a 

52  and  the  rocks  were  rent ;  and  the  tombs  were  anT 
opened  ;  and  many  bodies  of  the  saints  that  had  his  side, 

53  fallen  asleep  were  raised ;  and  coming  forth  out  came  out 
of  the  tombs  after  his  resurrection  they  entered  and  blood. 

54  into  the  holy  city  and  appeared  unto  many.  Now  fix!  34!'" 
the  centurion,   and   they  that   were  with    him  "Or, sane- 

*  tuary 

watching  Jesus,  when  they  saw  the  earthquake, 
and  the  things  that  were  done,  feared  exceed- 
ingly, saying,  Truly  this  was  3the  Son  of  God.  of  God™'1 


50.  The  end  in  this  narrative  comes  very  quickly.  The  loud 
voice  is  such  as  is  not  uncommon  in  the  case  of  a  ruptured  heart. 
In  John  (xix.  3oNj  the  cry  was  articulate  :  '  It  is  finished.' 

51.  The  rending  of  the  veil  is  mentioned  by  the  three 
Synoptists.  Its  significance  is  seen  by  the  writer  of  Hebrews 
ix.  8,  x.  19.  The  veil  between  the  main  temple  and  the  Holy  of 
Holies  was  very  costly,  it  reached  from  the  roof  to  the  ground, 
and  was  emblazoned  with  colours  which  represented  earth  and 
air  and  fire  and  sea  ;  the  height  was  55  cubits,  i.  e.  80  feet,  and 
the  width  16  cubits,  i.  e.  24  feet. — Josephus,  Bell.  lud.  v.  5.  4. 

What  follows — 'the  earth  did  quake',  &c.,  to  the  end  of 
ver.  53— is  peculiar  to  Matthew.  The  earthquake,  however,  is 
mentioned  in  our  fragment  of  St.  Peter's  Gospel.  The  rent  rocks 
are  shown  in  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  But  whether 
we  are  to  think  of  a  physical  fact  or  only  of  a  spiritual  truth, 
conveyed  in  the  scriptural  way  under  a  physical  image,  is  not 
certain,  nor  is  it  of  great  moment. 

53.  The  clause  '  after  his  resurrection  '  confuses  the  statement. 
Apparently  we  are  hearing  what  happened  when  the  veil  was 
rent ;  but  by  this  note  of  time  we  see  it  refers  to  events  some 
days  after.  We  may  surmise  that  in  the  perturbation  of  those 
days  there  were  many  of  those  apparitions  of  the  departed  which 
are  a  recognized  psychical  experience  to-day.  And  the  record  of 
these  vague  experiences  remains  in  this  verse. 

54.  In  Mark  and  Luke  the  saying  is  that  of  the  centurion 
alone.     In   Luke  he   only  says,  i  Really  this  man  was  just,  i.e. 


252  St.  MATTHEW  XXVII.  55-57 

And  many  women  were  there  beholding  from  55 
afar,  which  had  followed  Jesus  from  Galilee, 
ministering  unto  him :  among  whom  was  Mary  56 
Magdalene,  and  Mary  the  mother  of  James  and 
Joses,  and  the  mother  of  the  sons  of  Zebedee. 

And  when  even  was  come,  there  came  a  rich  57 
man  from  Arimathasa,  named  Joseph,  who  also 


innocent.'  In  any  case  the  testimony  of  the  centurion  to  His 
divine  sonship  would  not  be  of  any  value ;  to  a  pagan  of  the 
Grseco-Roman  world  '  Son  of  God '  had  but  a  low  connotation. 

55-6.  The  women  beholding.  It  is  not  fair  to  men  to  say 
that  the  women  were  bolder,  and  remained  when  the  disciples 
had  fled,  for  in  Luke  (xxiii.  49)  all  the  disciples  and  acquaintance 
are  included  in  the  watching  group. 

The  Galilaean  women  are  mentioned  in  Luke  viii.  1-3.  The 
wife  of  Zebedee  was  Salome  (xx.  20 ;  Mark  xv.  40).  These 
Galilaean  friends  are  distinct  from  the  women  of  Jerusalem  who 
in  feminine  sympathy  followed  Him  to  Golgotha  and  were 
addressed  by  Him  (Luke  xxiii.  27-32). 

Nothing  can  exceed  the  unconscious  art  of  this  scene.  The 
great  tragedy  is  transacted.  But  just  as  Euripides  relieves  the 
strain  of  a  terrible  situation  by  a  sweet  choric  song,  so  the  Gospel 
narrative  rests  the  heart  and  brain  by  ending  the  crucifixion  with 
the  spectacle  of  loving  and  grateful  women,  who  reflect  the  death 
of  their  Lord  in  the  depths  of  tearful  eyes  and  of  loyal  hearts, 
beholding  from  afar.  And  by  this  calm  ending  of  the  passage, 
which  began  with  the  outrages  of  the  judgement  hall,  the  vision 
is  left  on  the  mind,  of  all  humanity,  to  the  latest  time,  standing 
and  beholding  the  cross  and  the  Sufferer.  Until  the  world  ends, 
men  and  women,  redeemed  and  thrilled  with  gratitude  and  joy, 
will  stand  beholding. 

Ch.  xxvii.  57 — xxviii.     The  Burial  and  Resurrection. 

57-61.  The  Burial. 

57.  when  even  was  come.  It  was  Friday,  '  the  preparation/  as 
Mark  (xv.  42)  and  Luke  (xxiii.  64)  state,  and  as  Matthew  also 
knows,  ver.  62. 

a  rich  man.  This  designation  is  put  first,  in  place  of  Mark's 
'  councillor  of  honourable  estate ',  as  a  translation  of  that  term. 
But  perhaps  Matthew  was  influenced  by  the  prophecy  that  Christ 
should  be  with  l  the  rich '  in  His  burial  (Isa.  liii.  9).  Luke  dwells 
on  Joseph's  moral  character  only,  and  tell  us  that  as  a  Sanhedrist 
he  had  not  agreed  with  the  action  of  the  Sanhedrim. 

Arimathcea.  Ramathaim  Zophim,  the  birthplace  of  Samuel 
(1  Sam.  i.  1). 


St.  MATTHEW  XXVII.  58-63  253 

58  himself  was  Jesus'  disciple :  this  man  went  to 
Pilate,  and  asked  for  the  body  of  Jesus.     Then 

59  Pilate  commanded  it  to  be  given  up.  And  Joseph 
took  the  body,  and  wrapped  it  in  a  clean  linen 

60  cloth,  and  laid  it  in  his  own  new  tomb,  which  he 
had  hewn  out  in  the  rock :  and  he  rolled  a  great 
stone  to  the  door  of  the  tomb,  and  departed. 

61  And  Mary  Magdalene  was  there,  and  the  other 
Mary,  sitting  over  against  the  sepulchre. 

6  a      Now  on  the  morrow,  which  is  the  day  after  the 

Preparation,  the  chief  priests  and  the  Pharisees 

63  were  gathered  together  unto  Pilate,  saying,  Sir, 


58.  ivent  to  Pilate.  Mark  (xv.  43,  45)  brings  out  the  fact  that  it 
required  courage  to  make  the  request.  It  was  an  avowal  of  deep 
sympathy  with  the  dead  Christ.  According  to  Roman  Law  the 
criminal  was  left  exposed  until  the  body  decomposed,  unless 
some  one  requested  permission  to  bury  him.  It  is  remarkable 
that  here  from  the  very  first  the  truth  appears,  that  Christ  dead 
evokes  a  passion  of  loyalty  and  love  which  was  not  possible 
while  He  lived  among  us.  It  was  expedient  for  Him  to  go  away, 
in  order  to  bring  out  the  devotion  of  men  like  Joseph  and 
Nicodemus  (John  xix.  39). 

60.  his  own  new  tomb,  sc.  the  one  in  which  he  meant  to  be 
laid  himself.  On  the  site  of  what  is  called  Gordon's  Golgotha, 
there  is  a  tomb  which  enables  one  to  realize  the  situation  ;  it  is 
a  double  chamber  scooped  out  of  the  face  of  the  rock  ;  in  the 
inner  recess  is  a  rock-bed  for  the  body  to  lie  on ;  the  mouth  of 
the  cave  is  closed  by  a  heavy  slab  of  stone  which  can  only  be 
moved  because  it  slides  back  in  a  groove  cut  for  the  purpose. 

61.  The  two  Maries  of  ver.  56.  Only  Matthew  says  that  they 
sat  there.  They  stood  gazing  at  the  cross,  but  they  sat  down  at 
the  tomb,  as  if  not  intending  to  leave  their  lifeless  Master. 

62-6.  The  guarding  of  the  tomb  is  peculiar  to  Matthew.  But 
it  is  mentioned  in  the  Gospel  of  St.  Peter ;  Petronius  is  given  as 
the  name  of  the  centurion  ;  the  soldiers  put  seven  seals  on  the 
tomb,  and  reared  a  booth  to  keep  the  watch.  Matthew  introduces 
it  because  he  wishes  to  record  the  result  in  xxviii.  4,  11-15. 

62.  the  day  after  the  Preparation.  It  is  singular  to  describe  the 
more  important  day,  the  Sabbath,  as  the  day  after  the  preparation 
for  it.  Perhaps  the  odd  phrasing  shows  that  the  writer  had  his 
eye  on  Mark  xv.  42. 


254  St.  MATTHEW  XXVII.  64— XXVIII.  2 

we  remember  that  that  deceiver  said,  while  he 
was  yet  alive,  After  three  days  I   rise  again. 
Command  therefore  that  the  sepulchre  be  made  64 
sure  until  the  third  day,  lest  haply  his  disciples 
come  and  steal  him  away,  and  say  unto  the 
people,  He  is  risen  from  the  dead :  and  the  last 
error  will  be  worse  than  the  first.     Pilate  said  65 
1  Or,  Take  unto  them,  1  Ye  have  a  guard :  go  your  way, 
"el" make  2  ma^e  *t  as  sure  as  ve  can-     So  they  went,  and  66 
^xknow3  mao^e  tne  sepulchre  sure,  sealing  the  stone,  the 
guard  being  with  them. 

Now  late  on  the  sabbath  day,  as  it  began  to  28 
dawn  toward  the  first  day  of  the  week,  came 
Mary  Magdalene  and  the  other  Mary  to  see  the 
sepulchre.    And  behold,  there  was  a  great  earth-  2 
quake ;  for  an  angel  of  the  Lord  descended  from 
heaven,  and  came  and  rolled  away  the  stone,  and 


65.  Ye  have  a  guard,  or  rather  '  have  a  guard '  imperative. 
Guard  is  the  Latin  custodt'a,  very  natural  on  the  lips  of  Pilate. 
But  Latinisms  abounded  all  through  the  Roman  empire ;  cf. 
legiones,  ch.  xxvi.  53. 

xxviii.  1 -10.  The  Resurrection.  The  harmony  of  the  four 
narratives  is  a  study  which  would  lead  us  far  afield.  Without 
forgetting  the  details  in  the  other  three,  let  us  receive  the  distinct 
impression  of  the  one  before  us. 

1.  late  on  the  sabbath  day,  &c.  It  should  be  observed  that  the 
Greek  aaPfiaTcov  is  here  translated  '  sabbath '  and  '  week '  in  the 
same  breath.  This  is  hardly  possible.  We  must  keep  the  single 
rendering  'week'.  It  should  be  :  '  Late  in  the  week,  as  it  began 
to  dawn  on  the  first  day  of  another  week  '.  Luke's  '  very  early  ' 
and  John's  'while  it  was  yet  dark'  suggest  to  Dr.  Wright  that 
a  '  not'  has  dropped  out  from  Mark  xvi.  2  :  'when  the  sun  was  not 
yet  risen.'  It  would  be  four  o'clock  on  that  first  Easter  morning. 
The  loving  hearts  had  lost  no  time.  The  other  evangelists  say 
that  they  had  come  to  anoint  or  embalm  the  body.  In  Matthew 
they  have  come  only  to  see  the  tomb. 

2.  The  description  of  the  Resurrection  in  the  Gospel  of 
St.  Peter  is  very  grandiose.  A  crowd  comes  from  Jerusalem  and 
asks  the  soldiers  what  they  had  seen.     They  had  seen  two  men 


St.  MATTHEW  XXVIII.  3-10  255 

3  sat  upon  it.     His  appearance  was  as  lightning, 

4  and  his  raiment  white  as  snow :  and  for  fear  of 
him  the  watchers  did  quake,  and  became  as  dead 

5  men.     And  the  angel  answered  and  said  unto 
the  women,  Fear  not  ye :   for  I  know  that  ye 

6  seek  Jesus,  which  hath  been  crucified.     He  is 
not  here ;  for  he  is  risen,  even  as  he  said.  Come, 

7  see  the  place  1  where  the  Lord  lay.     And  go  » Many 
quickly,  and  tell  his  disciples,  He  is  risen  from  authori- 
the  dead ;  and   lo,  he  goeth  before  you  into  wktreke 
Galilee ;  there  shall  ye  see  him  :  lo,  I  have  told   ay' 

8  you.    And  they  departed  quickly  from  the  tomb 
with  fear  and  great  joy,  and  ran  to  bring  his 

9  disciples  word.     And  behold,  Jesus  met  them, 
saying,  All  hail.     And  they  came  and  took  hold 

10  of  his  feet,  and  worshipped  him.     Then  saith 

out  of  heaven  enter  the  tomb  with  great  shouting.  As  they  told 
their  story,  the  multitude  saw  three  emerge  from  the  tomb ;  the 
heads  of  the  two  reached  to  heaven,  but  the  head  of  Him  whom 
they  led  reached  above  the  heaven.  This  apocryphal  embellish- 
ment serves  to  bring  out  the  extraordinary  sobriety  and  simplicity 
of  our  evangelic  narrative.  None  of  the  four  evangelists  attempts 
to  describe  the  resurrection  itself.  Even  the  descent  of  the  angel 
and  the  rolling  away  of  the  stone  is  by  the  rest  described  as 
already  past.     Matthew  describes  it  as  happening. 

4.  In  Mark  the  women  are  frightened  at  the  sight  of  the  angel 
(xvi.  5)  ;  here  the  guards  are  afraid. 

7.  The  command  to  meet  Him  in  Galilee  is  given  by  Mark  as 
well.  Luke  (xxiv.  24)  alters  this  into  '  how  He  said  to  you  while 
He  was  yet  in  Galilee'.  Matthew's  change  of  'as  He  said  to 
you '  into  '  lo,  I  have  said  to  you  '  is  not  an  improvement. 

8.  with  fear.  At  that  point  Mark's  narrative  ends  abruptly 
xvi.  8  (for  the  concluding  passage  of  the  Second  Gospel  is  from 
another  hand).  The  fear  is  of  the  kind  which  is  consistent  with 
great  joy. 

9-10.  This  appearance,  and  '  All  hail ! ',  of  Jesus,  are  only  in 
Matthew.     John's  account,  however,  in  xx.  14-15  seems  to  cover 
the    same  fact.     The  order  to  the  disciples  to  go  into  Galilee, 
where  they  shall  see  Him,  is  only  recorded  here. 
,    11-15.     This  report  of  the  guards  and  the  attempt  to  silence 


256 


St.  MATTHEW  XXVIII.  11-16 


Jesus  unto  them,  Fear  not :  go  tell  my  brethren 
that  they  depart  into  Galilee,  and  there  shall  they 
see  me. 

Now  while  they  were  going,  behold,  some  of  u 
the  guard  came  into  the  city,  and  told  unto  the 
chief  priests  all  the  things  that  were  come  to 
pass.     And  when  they  were  assembled  with  the  12 
elders,  and  had  taken  counsel,  they  gave  large 
money  unto  the  soldiers,  saying,  Say  ye,  His  13 
disciples  came  by  night,  and  stole  him  away  while 
1  Or,  come  we  slept.     And  if  this  !  come  to  the  governor's  14 
ing  be.      ears,  we  will  persuade  him,  and  rid  you  of  care. 
governor    So  they  took  the  money,  and  did  as  they  were  15 
taught :  and  this  saying  was  spread  abroad  among 
the  Jews,  and  continueth  until  this  day. 

But  the  eleven  disciples  went  into  Galilee,  16 


them  is  given  in  the  Gospel  of  St.  Peter,  with  the  confession  of 
the  soldiers  that  'this  was  the  Son  of  God',  and  Pilate's  de- 
claration of  his  own  innocence  of  His  blood. 

12.  large  money.  A  great  bribe  would  be  necessary,  for  the 
soldiers  were  to  confess  a  fault,  falling  asleep  at  their  post,  which 
incurred  a  death  penalty. 

13.  The  story  was  a  lame  one,  hardly  capable  of  standing 
a  judicial  inquiry.  If  they  slept,  how  did  they  know  what 
happened  ?  If  the  disciples  did  it,  how  did  they  roll  the  stone 
back  and  carry  out  the  body  without  disturbing  the  slumber  of 
the  sentries  ? 

Every  argument  which  attempted  to  condemn  or  discredit 
Christ  and  His  work  was  from  the  first  involved  in  self-con- 
tradiction. 

15.  In  Justin  Martyr's  time  (a.  d.  170)  the  story  was  elaborated. 
The  chief  priests  dispersed  the  false  intelligence  through  the 
world  by  means  of  special  messengers  :  a  gospel  of  the  non- 
resurrection  ;  but  the  Gospel  of  the  Resurrection  triumphed. 

16.  into  Galilee.  Luke  does  not  know  of  this  appearance  in 
Galilee.  Perhaps  Paul  refers  to  it  in  the  appearing  to  500, 
1  Cor.  xv.  6,  but  he  does  not  mention  the  locality  of  that  event. 
The  scattered  notices  of  the  resurrection  appearances  are  hard, 
perhaps  impossible,  to   fit   into  a  single  harmonious  narrative. 


St.  MATTHEW  XXVIII.  17-20  257 

unto  the  mountain  where  Jesus  had  appointed 
J7  them.    And  when  they  saw  him,  they  worshipped 
18  him :  but  some  doubted.     And  Jesus  came  to 
them  and  spake  unto  them,  saying,  All  authority 
hath  been  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  on  earth. 
T9  Go  ye  therefore,  and  make  disciples  of  all  the 
nations,  baptizing  them  into  the  name  of  the 
Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost :  ,  Gr  al[ 
20  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  todays. 
commanded  you  :  and  lo,  I  am  with  you  *  alway,  consum- 
even  unto  2the  end  of  the  world.  'tftiuage 


But  the  student  of  history  will  not  discredit  an  event,  especially 
an  event  of  an  unusual  kind,  because  the  accounts  of  it  are 
different  and  divergent.  What  is  raised  beyond  all  doubt  is,  that 
the  disciples  had  visions  of  Jesus  after  His  death,  which  convinced 
them  that  He  was  risen  from  the  dead. 

the  mountain.  One  would  fain  believe  that  it  was  the 
Mount  near  the  Sea  of  Galilee  where  the  Sermon  was  preached — 
Kurun  Hattin,  according  to  tradition. 

17.  The  candid  statement,  that  they  doubted,  should  reassure  us. 
They  were  not  credulous  or  even  disposed  to  believe.  Their 
Lord  had  warned  them  against  being  deceived,  and  they  were 
cautious.  If  they  became  firmly  convinced  of  the  fact,  it  was 
after  doubt  and  inquiry.     The  conviction  was  valid. 

18.  He  speaks  as  already  in  Heaven. 

19.  Eusebius,  writing  before  the  Nicene  Council,  quotes  this 
commission,  without  any  mention  of  the  baptism  or  of  the  Trinity. 
The  Missionary  commandment,  however,  is  beyond  all  question. 
This  is  the  proper  and  inevitable  conclusion  of  the  Gospel,  that 
all  who  know  it  should  make  it  known  to  those  who  do  not. 
The  missionary  duty  is  surer  even  than  the  obligation  of  baptism 
in  the  name  of  the  Trinity. 

make  disciples.     More  than  merely  '  teach  '  (Acts  xiv.  21). 

the  name  of  the  Father,  &c.  This  baptismal  formula  is  not 
given  in  Mark  xvi.  16;  nor  do  the  notices  of  baptism  in  the 
New  Testament  sustain  the  view  that  the  formula  comes  from 
the  lips  of  Jesus  :  e.  g.  in  Acts  ii.  38,  viii.  16,  x.  48,  xix.  5,  the 
baptism  is  in  the  single  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  And 
so  Rom.  vi.  3;  Gal.  iii.  27  ;  Col.  ii.  12. 

20.  The  substance  of  the  teaching  is  not  what  He  was,  nor 
what  He  did,  but  His  commandments.     Possibly  if  the  Church 

S 


258  St.  MATTHEW  XXVIII.  20 

had  made  her  message  the  Teaching  of  Jesus,  and  left  disciples  to 
infer  who  He  was  that  taught,  the  world  would  have  been  more 
ready  to  receive  the  Gospel. 

But  notwithstanding  all  the  errors  of  the  message  and  the 
messengers,  and  the  long  delay  in  fulfilling  the  commission,  He 
has  been  with  His  own  until  now,  and  will  be  to  the  end.  The 
thought  of  the  Parousia  recedes  in  the  closing  sentence  of  the 
Gospel ;  our  thoughts  are  to  rest  not  so  much  in  the  expectation 
of  His  return,  as  in  the  fact  that 

He  is  here  ! 


Oxford:  Horace  Hart,  Printer  to  the  University 


Date  Due 

"""^itmiKJtf^ 

"'^IHftyyfgHfr-^'***'-  * 

1 

1 

^HtfMMEVWPWHi 

!■■■■■■■,—■■ 

ieiegMtfJWMMM 

p 

xfUw^vTJri 

■ 

1 

f) 

* 


BS2575 .H823 

A  devotional  commentary  on  the  Gospel  of 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00064  5160 


